Ontario is reporting more than 800 people in hospital with COVID on Thursday for the first time since earlier this month. There are 807 people hospitalized with 166 in intensive care.
This is up by 29 for hospitalizations and up by one in ICUs since the previous day. The last time hospitalizations was over 800 was on March 4 as the figures now trend upward. Some experts have said Ontario is entering a 6th wave of COVID.
Last Thursday, there were 661 hospitalizations with 165 in ICU.
Of the 807 people in hospital with COVID-19, 48 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 52 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.
Of the 166 people in ICUs with the virus, 74 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while 26 per cent were admitted for other reasons.
Ontario COVID cases, deaths, vaccinations, recoveries, testing
Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 3,139 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 1,162,609.
The death toll in the province has risen to 12,433 as 6 more virus-related deaths were added. Thursday’s report said five of the deaths occurred within the last month and one death occurred more than a month ago.
There are a total of 1,129,428 recoveries, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 2,121 from the previous day.
For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 90.9 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 92.8 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 55.5 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 55.6 per cent with 33.1 per cent who are fully vaccinated.
The province administered 9,457 doses in the last day.
The government said 18,318 tests were processed in the previous 24 hours. There are 6,284 tests currently under investigation.
The test positivity rate stands at 16 per cent, which is also up from 13.4 per cent reported last Thursday.