Ontario COVID numbers: 644 people in hospital, 199 in intensive care

Ontario is reporting 644 people in hospital with COVID on Thursday, with 199 in intensive care units.

This is down by five for both hospitalizations and in ICUs since the previous day. Last Thursday, there were 742 hospitalizations with 244 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 644 people in hospital with COVID-19, 47 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 53 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 199 people in ICUs with the virus, 75 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 25 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 2,398 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 1,131,941.

The death toll in the province has risen to 12,307 as 19 more virus-related deaths were added. Thursday’s report indicated 13 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 1,104,237 recoveries, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 2,395 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 55 per cent — more than 7.1 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.

For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 55.2 per cent with 31.2 per cent who are fully vaccinated.

The province administered 14,246 doses in the last day.

The government said 14,648 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 5,206 tests currently under investigation.

The test positivity rate stands at 12.3 per cent.