Ontario reports 1,332 people in hospital with COVID-19, 13 more deaths

Ontario health officials say there are currently 1,332 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 182 patients in intensive care.

The total number of people in hospital with the disease dropped slightly from 1,366 on Tuesday to 1,332 on Wednesday.

The last time the hospitalization count exceeded 1,300 was in February during the first Omicron wave.

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The number of people in intensive care units in Ontario also dropped slightly on Wednesday from 190 the day before to 182.

Officials also reported 13 more deaths due to COVID-19. Twelve of the deaths occurred over the past 30 days, and one happened more than a month ago.

Since the start of the pandemic, 12,583 have died due to the disease.

The province reported 3,833 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 23,618 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 17.5 per cent.

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 892 new cases in Toronto, 199 new cases in York Region, 193 new cases in Durham Region, 166 new cases in Peel Region and 146 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials also reported 234 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka and 222 new cases in Hamilton. All other regions reported fewer than 200 new cases on Wednesday.

The province deemed 3,339 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,159,671.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,204,452.

The province reported 112 resident cases and 26 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Officials said that at least 140 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.