Ontario reports 60 more COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations reach 4,132

Ontario health officials reported that 60 more people have died due to COVID-19 in the last month as the province logged an increase in the number of people with the disease in intensive care.

The province confirmed on Wednesday that 4,132 people are in hospital with COVID-19, and 589 of those patients are in intensive care.

The total number of people in hospital with the disease is a decrease over the 4,183 reported on Tuesday, while the number of people in intensive care units rose from 580 to 589.

The province reported that 53 per cent of the 3,220 hospitalizations are people who are in hospital primarily due to COVID-19, while the remaining 47 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have now tested positive for the virus.

Eighty-two per cent of patients are in ICU primarily due to COVID-19, while 18 per cent of cases are there primarily for other reasons, but also have the virus.

The province said that 224 of the people in ICU are fully vaccinated, 185 are unvaccinated and 18 are partially vaccinated. The remaining 162 have an unknown vaccination status.

According to data released by the Ontario Science Table on Tuesday, which takes into account population sizes, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 80.3 per cent less likely to end up in hospital and 91.9 per cent less likely to end up in ICU compared to people who are unvaccinated.

The province reported 5,744 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 34,579 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 22 per cent.

Officials reported that 4,109 of the new cases reported on Wednesday involved people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses, 880 are unvaccinated and 186 are partially vaccinated. They also noted that 569 of the cases had an unknown vaccination status.

Acknowledging population size, the science table noted on Tuesday, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 48.9 per cent less likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those who are unvaccinated.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that cases of the virus are expected to peak in the next several days.

According to health officials, 60 more deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours. The province said that 59 of the deaths have occurred over the last month, but one death is from over a month ago.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said on Wednesday during a news conference that most of the deaths reported today are due to the Delta variant.

The province has reported a total 10,726 COVID-19-related deaths in the province since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

The province deemed 12,891 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 874,445.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 969,437.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 949 new cases in Toronto, 914 new cases in Peel Region, 390 new cases in York Region, 436 new cases in Halton Region and 202 new cases in Durham Region and

Officials reported 359 new cases in Hamilton, 307 new cases in Waterloo region, 306 new cases in Windsor-Essex, 298 new cases in Simcoe-Muskoka and 244 new cases in Ottawa. All other regions reported fewer than 200 new cases on Wednesday.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 5,744 new infections reported on Wednesday, 434 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 379 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another 2,197 cases in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 1,604 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 789 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 328 cases in people over the age of 80.

The province reported 253 resident cases and 108 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. It also noted that seven of the 60 deaths reported on Wednesday were long-term care residents.

Officials stated that at least 422 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.