Ontario COVID numbers: 1,003 people in hospital, 297 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 1,003 people in hospital with COVID on Friday, with 297 in intensive care units as figures continue to trend downward.

This is down by 63 hospitalizations and a decrease of five in ICUs since the previous day. Last Friday, there were 1,281 hospitalizations with 352 in ICU.

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 1,003 people in hospital with COVID-19, 49 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 51 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 297 people in ICUs with the virus, 76 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 24 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 2,427 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, 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 1,096,357.

Of the 2,427 new cases recorded, the data showed 287 were unvaccinated people, 75 were partially vaccinated people, 1,892 were fully vaccinated people. For 173 people the vaccination status was unknown.

The death toll in the province has risen to 12,386 as 39 more virus-related deaths were added. A ministry of health spokesperson said 35 of deaths occurred over the past 28 days. The other four deaths occurred more than a month ago.

“Of these, no deaths occurred on Feb. 24, five deaths occurred on Feb. 23 and five deaths occurred on Feb. 22, with the remaining occurring in the preceding days,” the spokesperson said.

There are a total of 1,065,561 recoveries, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 2,427 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 90.5 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 92.6 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 53.7 per cent — more than 6.9 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 54.5 per cent with 27.1 per cent who are fully vaccinated.

The province administered 27,452 doses in the last day.

The government said 21,550 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 5,749 tests currently under investigation.

The test positivity rate stands at 9.8 per cent.