Ontario reports total of 1,066 people in hospital with COVID-19, 41 more deaths

Ontario health officials are reporting a total of 1,066 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday and 41 more deaths due to the disease.

The number of people in hospital with the disease marks a decrease from the 1,106 hospitalizations reported on Wednesday. The number of people in ICU with COVID-19 also dropped on Thursday from 319 the day before to 302.

The province also reported that 41 more people have died due to COVID-19 over the past 30 days. A Ministry of Health spokesperson said none of the deaths occurred on Feb. 23, three deaths occurred on Feb. 22, six deaths occurred on Feb. 21 and the remaining 32 deaths occurred previous to that.

Officials said there have been a total of 12,347 COVID-19-related deaths in the province since the start of the pandemic.

The province reported that 49 per cent of the 1,106 people in hospital are primarily there due to COVID-19, while the remaining 51 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have now tested positive for the virus.

Officials said about 74 per cent of patients are in ICU primarily due to COVID-19, while 26 per cent of cases are there primarily for other reasons, but also have the virus.

The province said that 98 of the people in ICU are fully vaccinated, 75 are unvaccinated and eight are partially vaccinated. The remaining 121 have an unknown vaccination status.

According to data released by the Ontario Science Table on Wednesday, which takes into account population sizes, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 84.7 per cent less likely to end up in hospital and 92.4 per cent less likely to end up in ICU compared to people who are unvaccinated.

The province reported 2,404 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 21,449 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 9.7 per cent.

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 306 new cases in Toronto, 195 new cases in Peel Region, 107 new cases in Durham Region, 104 new cases in York Region and 73 new cases in Halton Region.

Officials also reported 187 new cases in Ottawa, 113 new cases in Simcoe-Muskoka and 105 new cases each in Thunder Bay and Niagara Region. All other regions reported fewer than 100 new cases on Thursday.

The province said that of the 2,404 new cases reported today, 1,841 involve people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses, 298 involve people who are unvaccinated, 80 involve people who are partially vaccinated and 185 involve people who have an unknown vaccination status.

Acknowledging population size, the science table noted in their latest data report on Wednesday, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 55.5 per cent less likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those who are unvaccinated.

The province deemed 2,604 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Thursday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,063,134.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,093,930.

The province reported 39 resident cases and 94 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. Six of the 41 deaths reported on Thursday were residents in long-term care, the province stated. Officials said that at least 88 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.