Ontario reports 1,528 people in hospital with COVID-19, 29 more deaths

Ontario health officials are reporting 1,528 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 176 patients in intensive care.

The total number of people in hospital with the disease dropped slightly on Wednesday from the 1,555 hospitalizations reported on Tuesday.

The number of people in intensive care units across the province dropped from 188 the day before to 176.

Officials also reported 29 more deaths due to COVID-19 that occurred over the past 30 days.

Since the start of the pandemic, 13,020 individuals have died due to the disease.

The province reported 1,995 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 20,465 processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 11.3 per cent

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 522 new cases in Toronto, 161 new cases in Peel Region, 130 new cases in York Region.

The province also reported 108 new cases in Hamilton. All other regions reported fewer than 100 new cases on Wednesday.

The province deemed 2,148 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,244,969.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,279,200.

The province reported 103 resident cases and 25 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Four of the 10 deaths reported on Wednesday involved residents in long-term care.

Officials said that at least 189 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.