4,016 people in Ontario hospitals with COVID, 608 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 4,016 people in hospital with COVID on Wednesday with 608 in intensive care units.

This is up by eight hospitalizations but a decrease of 18 in ICUs since the previous day.

The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.

Of the 4,016 people in hospital with COVID-19, 56 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 44 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 608 people in ICUs with the virus, around 83 per cent were admitted because of the virus, while around 17 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

2:32 Senior dies after booster unavailable in long-term care home

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 5,368 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to recent testing restrictions. The provincial case total now stands at 1,010,247.

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Of the 5,368 new cases recorded, the data showed 801 were unvaccinated people, 191 were partially vaccinated people, 3,805 were fully vaccinated people. For 571 people the vaccination status was unknown.

The death toll in the province has risen to 11,160 as 92 more virus-related deaths were added.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health said 89 of the deaths occurred in the past 21 days. Three other deaths occurred more than a month ago and were added following a data cleanup, officials noted.

“Of these, six deaths occurred yesterday, 23 deaths occurred on Jan. 24, 27 deaths occurred on Jan. 23, with the remaining occurring in the preceding days,” the spokesperson said.

“While this will not change the fact that these individuals tragically lost their lives, it is important to be transparent and provide the public with as much context as we can.”

There are a total of 942,158 recoveries, which is around 93 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 9,913 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 89 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 91.7 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 47.5 per cent — more than 6.1 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 52.5 per cent with 12.3 per cent who are now fully vaccinated.

The province administered 79,059 doses in the last day.

The government said 33,687 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 20,190 tests currently under investigation.

The test positivity rate stands at 14.1 per cent.

Cases, deaths and outbreaks in Ontario long-term care homes

According to the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, there have been 4,009 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which an increase of 37 deaths since the previous day. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.

There are 359 current outbreaks in homes, which is down by 10 from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 2,722 active cases among long-term care residents and 3,594 active cases among staff — down by 99 and down by 268, respectively, in the last day.