Ontario reports record-breaking 2,472 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 338 ICU admissions

Ontario health officials are reporting another increase on Friday in the number of people with COVID-19 in hospital and intensive care units across the province.

The province reported that the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 rose from 2,279 on Thursday to a record-breaking 2,472 on Friday, while intensive care unit (ICU) admissions jumped from 319 to 338.

Previously, the highest total number of people in hospital with COVID-19 was 2,360 on Apr. 20, 2021.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 related patients in ICU is 271, a number that has been steadily rising for days now.

The province said that of the 338 people in the ICU with COVID-19, 232 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 106 are fully vaccinated.

According to data released by the Ontario Science Table on Thursday, which takes into account population sizes, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 79.8 per cent less likely to end up in hospital and 93.3 per cent less likely to end up in ICU compared to people who are unvaccinated.

During previous COVID-19 waves, health officials have said that it becomes nearly impossible to provide non-COVID-19-related medical care once there are more than 300 patients in the ICU.

According to health officials, 43 more deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours. The province noted that 42 of those deaths occurred over the span of the last 10 days, and one death occurred over a month ago.

The province reported 11,899 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 61,137 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 26.6 per cent.

Of the 11,899 case reported Friday, 9,515 involve people who are fully vaccinated, 1,543 are people who are unvaccinated, 375 involve people who are partially vaccinated and 466 had an unknown vaccination status.

Acknowledging population size, the science table noted on Thursday, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 21.1 per cent less likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those who are unvaccinated.

The province deemed 11,946 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Friday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 707,732.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 853,270, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 2,405 new cases in Toronto, 1,745 new cases in Peel Region, 965 new cases in York Region, 742 new cases in Halton Region and 425 new cases in Durham Region.

Officials reported 656 new cases in Ottawa, 564 new cases in Waterloo region, 508 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka and 543 new cases in Windsor-Essex.

All other regions reported fewer than 500 new cases on Friday.

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 11,899 new infections reported on Friday, 741 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 874 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another cases 4,837 in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 3,511 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 1,380 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 547 cases in people over the age of 80.

Hospitalizations involving children continue to rise in Ontario, particularly in children under the age of five. Public Health Ontario says that as of Wednesday, there were 43 children between the ages of zero and four hospitalized with COVID-19.

The province reported 191 resident cases and 65 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. It also noted that seven of the 43 deaths reported on Friday were long-term care residents.

Officials stated that at least 312 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.