Ontario COVID-19 hospitalizations drop to 4,026 while ICU admissions reach 600
Ontario health officials are reporting a drop in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations on Saturday as ICU admissions linked to the virus climb.
The 4,026 patients currently in hospital represent a decrease over the 4,114 patients reported a day earlier. Meanwhile, ICU admissions rose from 590 to 600.
Of those 4,026 patients, 56 per cent were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and 44 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have since tested positive for the virus, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Most of the patients in hospital are fully vaccinated at 2,079, while 783 are unvaccinated, and 194 are partially vaccinated. No vaccination information was provided for the remaining 970 hospitalized patients.
In the ICU, 81 per cent of patients were admitted for COVID-19 and 19 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19 after their admission.
Data released by the government shows that 227 patients in the ICU are fully vaccinated, 216 are unvaccinated, and 17 are partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining 140 patients is unknown, according to the government.
Another 6,473 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Ontario since yesterday, though officials have said that number is likely an underestimate due to limited testing availability.
With 36,396 tests processed in the last 24 hours, Ontario’s COVID-19 positivity rate is 15.9 per cent.
The Ministry of Health says that 47 deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported on Saturday, though they say that number only includes deaths that have occurred in the last month.
At least one of the deaths reported today involved a person under the age of 19, although the age of that individual and the public health unit reporting their death was not disclosed.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontario has seen 990,832 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 10,912 deaths and 908,533 recoveries.
On Thursday, the province announced that public health measures introduced earlier this month aimed at slowing the Omicron-fuelled spread of COVID-19, including the closure of indoor dining and the suspension of operations at gyms, will begin to lift on Jan. 31.
Each step of the province’s three-step plan to gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions will be separated by 21 days in order for the province to monitor public health trends.
WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES?
Most of the cases reported by the province on Saturday were found in Toronto (1,118), Peel Region (820), Ottawa (469), and York Region (452).
Other areas with relatively high COVID-19 case counts reported today include Halton Region (304), Windsor-Essex (303), Durham Region (290), and Waterloo (261).
UPDATE ON COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
According to Elliott, 91.6 per cent of Ontarians over the age 12 have one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 88.9 per cent have two doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.
Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that the province is not currently considering updating its proof of vaccination requirement, which is currently required to enter non-essential businesses like restaurants and gyms, from two doses to three.
Background
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
Health experts have said the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.