3,645 people in Ontario hospitals with COVID, 599 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 3,645 people in hospital with COVID on Thursday, with 599 in intensive care units.

This is down by 371 hospitalizations and a decrease of nine 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 3,645 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 599 people in ICUs with the virus, around 82 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while around 18 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 5,852 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, 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 1,016,099.

Of the 5,852 new cases recorded, the data showed 960 were unvaccinated people, 236 were partially vaccinated people, 4,004 were fully vaccinated people. For 652 people the vaccination status was unknown.

The death toll in the province has risen to 11,230 as 70 more virus-related deaths were added.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health said the 70 deaths occurred in the past 19 days.

“Of these, six deaths occurred yesterday, 11 deaths occurred on Jan. 25, nine deaths occurred on Jan. 24, 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 950,795 recoveries, which is around 94 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 8,637 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 89.1 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 91.7 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 48 per cent — more than 6.2 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 52.7 per cent with 13.2 per cent who are now fully vaccinated.

The province administered 79,322 doses in the last day.

The government said 33,560 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 17,276 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 4,035 deaths reported among residents and patients in long-term care homes across Ontario, which an increase of 26 deaths since the previous day. Thirteen virus-related deaths in total have been reported among staff.

There are 351 current outbreaks in homes, which is down by eight from the previous day.

The ministry also indicated there are currently 2,661 active cases among long-term care residents and 3,269 active cases among staff — down by 61 and down by 325, respectively, in the last day.