A total of 2,493 people in Ontario are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, as the province continues to feel the impact of the latest wave of the pandemic.
That’s according to new data released by the province on Saturday morning.
The new numbers suggest a decrease of 141 hospitalizations. On Friday 2,634 people were seeking care in a hospital.
In a tweet Saturday, Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott said 54 per cent of those admitted to the hospital were for COVID-19, while 46 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for the virus.
The number of people in an ICU has also dropped, with 501 on Saturday from 517 on Friday.
Elliott tweeted: “80% of patients admitted to the ICU were admitted for COVID-19 and 20% were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19.”
Of those in hospital with COVID-19, 484 are unvaccinated, 100 are partially vaccinated and 1,264 people are fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, 158 people receiving care in an ICU are unvaccinated and 10 are partially vaccinated while 174 are fully vaccinated.
The province also reported 3,204 new cases of the COVID-19. However, experts caution this is likely an underrepresentation of the virus’ spread in the province due to more stringent testing rules implemented.
To date, a total of 1,051,174 cases of COVID-19 have been detected in Ontario since the pandemic began.
According to Elliott, by Saturday, 30,949,011 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the province.
Ninety-two per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and older have now received at least one dose, while 89.4 per cent have had two shots.
“If you still need your first, second or booster dose, it’s not too late,” Elliott said. “Both Moderna & Pfizer provide strong protection.”
The province also reported 59 deaths on Saturday, which officials said occurred over the past 30 days.
The Ministry of Health said of five of the deaths occurred on Feb. 4, while 19 fatalities happened on Feb 3.
Seven occurred on Feb. 2.
The remaining fatalities happened in the preceding days, the ministry said.