Ontario reports 3,448 people in hospital with COVID-19, 505 ICU admissions

Ontario is reporting another jump in people hospitalized with COVID-19 Wednesday as the number of patients in intensive care surpasses 500.

Health officials said 3,448 people are now in hospital testing positive for COVID-19, which is an increase of more than 200 people in the past 24 hours.

The number of people in intensive care also jumped to 505, which is an increase over the 477 on Tuesday.

The province also reported Wednesday that 54 per cent of the hospitalizations are people who are in hospital primarily due to COVID-19, while the remaining 46 per cent were admitted for other reasons but are now testing positive for the virus.

In intensive care, 83 per cent of patients are admitted primarily for COVID-19, while the remaining 17 per cent have tested positive but are being treated for another issue.

Ontario also reported a spike in COVID-19-related deaths, logging 46 fatalities in the latest report.

Meanwhile, Ontario reported 9,782 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with a test positivity rate of 20 per cent. 

Health officials have warned that due to testing restrictions, the number of cases reported daily is an underestimate of the true amount.

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 1,675 new cases in Toronto, 1,060 new cases in Peel Region, 964 new cases in York Region, 819 new cases in Durham Region and 434 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials reported 471 new cases in Waterloo region and 588 new cases in Ottawa. 

Of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario today, 1,347 were in people unvaccinated, while 327 involve those who are partially vaccinated. There were 7,673 cases in people with at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 435 in people with an unknown vaccination status.

The province reported 235 resident cases and 134 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. It also noted that three of the 15 deaths reported were long-term care residents.

Officials stated that at least 389 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19.