Ontario reports 615 patients in hospital due to COVID-19 as ICU admissions drop to a 2022 low

Hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 in Ontario decreased to 615 on Friday, while the number of patients in ICU dropped to 193 — the lowest total recorded in 2022.

Of those patients in hospital, 44 per cent were admitted due to the virus while 56 per cent tested positive after the fact. At least 365 of those patients are fully vaccinated, 117 are unvaccinated, and 18 are partially vaccinated. The remaining patients’ vaccination status is unknown.

On Friday, six new deaths linked to COVID-19 were identified by officials. Ten deaths were originally recorded, but four were removed from the provincial total due to a data cleanup. The new data shows that Ontario has recorded a total of 12,313 deaths due to COVID-19.

In Ontario ICUs, 193 individuals are currently receiving care -- 79 per cent of patients were admitted to the ICU for COVID-19 and 21 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have since tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Ministry. Of those patients, 60 are fully vaccinated, 34 are unvaccinated, and three are partially vaccinated. The remaining patients’ vaccination status is unknown.

At least 2,502 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours amid limited access to testing across the province.

Those cases were identified through 14,198 tests which the province said generated a positivity rate of 12.9 per cent. On Thursday, Ontario’s positivity rate was 12.3 per cent.

On Thursday, Ontario released new COVID-19 modelling, suggesting the province should prepare for a moderate rebound in hospital admissions due to COVID-19 between now and May.

UPDATE ON VACCINATIONS

According to the Ministry of Health, 93 per cent of Ontarians over the age of 12 have received one dose and 91 per cent have received two doses.

More than 31,942,537 needles have gone into arms in Ontario, including 12,997 doses administered on Friday.