Ontario COVID numbers: 742 people in hospital, 244 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 742 people in hospital with COVID on Thursday, with 244 in intensive care units.

This is down by nine hospitalizations but an increase of three in ICUs since the previous day. Last Thursday, there were 834 hospitalizations with 267 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 742 people in hospital with COVID-19, 46 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 54 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 244 people in ICUs with the virus, 79 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 21 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 2,125 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to testing restrictions. The provincial case total now stands at 1,119,564.

Of the 2,125 new cases recorded, the data showed 209 were unvaccinated people, 47 were partially vaccinated people, 1,760 were fully vaccinated people. For 109 people the vaccination status was unknown.

The death toll in the province has risen to 12,638 as 20 more virus-related deaths were added. Thursday’s report indicated 14 of the deaths occurred within the last 30 days while six of the deaths occurred more than a month ago.

There are a total of 1,090,976 recoveries, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 2,361 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 90.7 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 92.7 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 54.6 per cent — more than 7 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 55 per cent with 29.7 per cent who are fully vaccinated.

The province administered 14,705 doses in the last day.

The government said 14,695 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 5,141 tests currently under investigation.

The test positivity rate stands at 11.2 per cent.