Ontario COVID-19 hospitalizations drop to 1,207, 23 deaths reported

Ontario health officials are reporting 1,207 patients in hospital with COVID-19, along with 168 patients in intensive care units (ICU).

This marks a decrease in hospitalizations over Wednesday's 1,248 patients, while ICU capacity has increased day-over-day.

The province is also reporting 23 new deaths related to the virus Thursday. Twenty of the deaths occured in the last month, while three took place more than thirty days ago.

Of Thursday’s hospitalizations, 132 patients are unvaccinated and 786 are fully vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is partial or unknown.

Thirty-nine per cent of patients hospitalized were admitted for COVID-19, while the remaining 61 per cent tested positive after an unrelated admission. In ICUs, those percentages are 62 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively.

Of the patients currently being treated for COVID-19 in Ontario ICUs, 22 are unvaccinated and 74 are fully vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is partial or unknown.

The province reported 1,565 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, but health officials have warned that case numbers are a significant underestimation due to testing limitations.

With 15,462 tests processed in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health is reporting a positivity rating of at least 9.6 per cent. Ontario's positivity rate hasn't been this low since February.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,291,814.