Ontario reports 1,563 people in hospital with COVID-19, 24 more deaths

Ontario health officials say there are currently 1,563 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 204 patients in intensive care.

The total number of people in hospital with the disease dropped slightly from 1,662 on Friday to 1,563 on Saturday.

The number of people in intensive care units across the province also dropped slightly on Saturday from 210 the day before to 204.

Officials also reported 24 more deaths due to COVID-19, all of which occurred over the past 30 days.

Since the start of the pandemic, 12,962 have died due to the disease.

The province reported 2,164 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 14,521 processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 13.1 per cent.

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 519 new cases in Toronto, 168 new cases in York Region, 162 new cases in Peel Region, 100 new cases in Durham Region and 66 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials also reported 119 new cases in Hamilton. All other regions reported fewer than 100 new cases on Saturday.

The province deemed 2,820 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Saturday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,235,302.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,272,972.

The province reported 106 resident cases and 30 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Three of the 24 deaths reported on Saturday involved residents in long-term care.

Officials said that at least 203 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.