Ontario reports 551 COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions continue to drop

Ontario is reporting 551 patients in hospital due to COVID-19, as the number of patients in intensive care continues to decrease.

On Monday, health officials confirmed that 551 people were being treated with COVID-19 in hospital, while 181 were in ICU — down from 228 one week ago and the lowest number of admissions since late December.

Hospitalization data is not always updated on the weekend.

The vaccination status of those hospitalized with COVID-19 was not provided on Monday.

On Monday, four new COVID-19 deaths were recorded — three of which occurred in the last 30 days and one that occurred more than a month ago. Ontario has recorded a total of 12,336 deaths due to COVID-19.

At least 1,217 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours amid limited access to testing across the province, although that number continues to be an underestimation due to a lack of testing.

Those cases were identified through 8,644 tests, which the province said generated a positivity rate of 13.4 per cent. On Sunday, the positivity rate was 12 per cent.

More than 31,975,075 needles have gone into arms in Ontario, including 5,281 doses administered on Sunday.

As of Monday, masks are no longer required in schools, retail settings and most other indoor public spaces in Ontario.