Ontario COVID numbers: 688 people in hospital, 220 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 688 people in hospital with COVID on Tuesday, with 220 in intensive care units.

This is up by 86 hospitalizations but a decrease of eight in ICUs since the previous day. Last Tuesday, there were 779 hospitalizations with 246 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 688 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 220 people in ICUs with the virus, 77 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 23 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 1,076 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to testing restrictions. The provincial case total now stands at 1,127,532.

The death toll in the province has risen to 12,272 as 16 more virus-related deaths were added. Tuesday’s report indicated 13 of the deaths occurred within the last 30 days while three 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 1,593 from the previous day.

For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 90.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 92.7 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 54.9 per cent — more than 7 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 55.1 per cent with 30.8 per cent who are fully vaccinated.

The province administered 11,697 doses in the last day.

The government said 9,698 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 6,421 tests currently under investigation.

The test positivity rate stands at 13 per cent.