Ontario reports highest number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in nearly two months

Ontario heath officials are reporting that more than 1,300 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19, marking a total count not seen since February.

The total number of people in hospital with the disease jumped from 1,090 on Monday to 1,366 on Tuesday.

The last time the hospitalization count exceeded 1,366 was on Feb. 16 during the first Omicron wave when officials reported a total count of 1,403.

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The number of people in intensive care units in Ontario also rose on Tuesday from 184 the day before to 190.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said at a news conference on Monday that he expects the number of people in the ICU with COVID-19 will continue to rise and could eventually hit 600 at the peak of this wave.

Officials reported that 64 per cent of ICU patients were admitted due to COVID-19 and 36 per cent were admitted for other reasons and subsequently tested positive for the virus.

The province said that of the 190 people in the ICU with COVID-19 on Tuesday, 30 are unvaccinated, four are partially vaccinated and 68 are fully vaccinated. The remaining 88 have an unknown vaccination status.

According to data released by the Ontario Science Table on Monday, which takes into account population sizes, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 71.9 per cent less likely to end up in hospital and 85.2 per cent less likely to end up in ICU compared to people who are unvaccinated.

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

The province said it also removed one death from the cumulative count following a data cleanup. Since the start of the pandemic, 12,570 have died due to the disease.

The province reported 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 14,183 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 18.7 per cent.

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 460 new cases in Toronto, 177 new cases in York Region, 137 new cases in Peel Region, 112 new cases in Durham Region and 68 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials also reported 140 new cases in Hamilton, 122 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka and 116 new cases in the Windsor-Essex.

All other regions reported fewer than 100 new cases on Tuesday.

The province deemed 2,282 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Tuesday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,156,332.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,200,619.

The province reported 86 resident cases and 19 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Officials said that at least 141 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.