Ontario reports steepest drop in hospitalizations and ICU admissions since early January

Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions related to COVID-19 dropped again on Friday to a low Ontario has not seen since early January.

This comes a day after Ontario’s top doctor said the worst of Omicron is “behind us,” declaring that the province reached its peak several weeks ago.

Health officials logged 1,281 COVID-19 hospitalizations – the lowest number of admissions since Jan. 3 when there were 1,232.

In the ICU, 352 people with COVID-19 are seeking care – the lowest number of admissions since Jan. 7 when there were 338.

On Friday, Ontario health officials reported 30 deaths related to COVID-19 that occurred over the past 30 days, in addition to three deaths from more than a month ago.

Of the thirty deaths recorded, nine happened on Feb. 16, three occurred on Feb. 15 and the remaining deaths recorded took place in the preceding days.

Due to the upcoming long weekend, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said COVID-19 numbers will not be posted on Monday. Instead, that data will be available the following day.

The province reported that of those hospitalized, 51 per cent are seeking care due to COVID-19, while the remaining patients were admitted to the hospital for unrelated reasons and tested positive for the virus.

In intensive care, that number rises to 81 per cent of patients admitted for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 2,337 new COVID-19 cases, but health officials have warned that number is a significant underestimate due to restricted testing.

With 17,758 tests processed in the last 24-hours, Ontario is reporting a test positivity rate of 10.8 per cent.

The majority of infections were identified in the Greater Toronto Area. Officials are reporting 306 new cases in Toronto, 187 new cases in Peel Region and 109 new cases in Durham Region.

The only other municipality with more than 100 COVID-19 cases was Simcoe-Muskoka, logging 164 new infections.

Ten residents in long-term care homes have COVID-19 along with 142 staff members.