Ontario reports lowest hospital and ICU admissions with COVID-19 since first week of January

Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions related to COVID-19 in Ontario have dropped to their lowest levels since the first week of January as the province rolls back pandemic restrictions on Thursday.

Beginning today, restaurants, gyms and movie theatres can return to full capacity as long as they screen attendees for their COVID-19 vaccination.

Following a steady decline that has taken place over the last few weeks, health officials logged 1,342 people hospitalized with COVID-19 – the lowest number of admissions since Jan. 4 when there were 1,290.

In the ICU, 356 people are being treated for COVID-19 – the lowest number of admissions since Jan. 7 when there were 338.

Ontario health officials reported 37 deaths related to COVID-19. Thirty-six of those occurred over the past 30 days while one death happened more than a month ago and was added to the cumulative count.

Of those hospitalized, 52 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 80 per cent of patients admitted for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Ontario is reporting 2,327 new COVID-19 cases, but health officials have warned that number is a significant underestimate due to restricted testing.

With 18,462 tests processed in the last 24-hours, Ontario is reporting a test positivity rate of 11 per cent.

The majority of COVID-19 infections were identified in the Greater Toronto Area. Officials are reporting 312 new cases in Toronto and 134 in Peel Region.

Other municipalities with more than 100 COVID-19 cases include Simcoe-Muskoka (164), Ottawa (182) and Windsor-Essex (106).

Three residents in long-term care homes have COVID-19 along with 81 staff members. According to provincial data, 10 deaths reported on Thursday were among long-term care residents.