Ontario reports total of 2,279 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 319 ICU admissions

Ontario health officials are reporting that more than 300 people with COVID-19 are in intensive care units across the province on Thursday, as hospitals struggle to cope with the rising admissions.

For several days, the province has reported a daily increase in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and hospitalizations. The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 rose from 2,081 on Wednesday to 2,279 on Thursday. Intensive care unit admissions jumped from 288 to 319.

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.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 related patients in ICU is 252. The minister's office has called the growth in hospitalizations “explosive.”

The province said that of the 319 people in the ICU with COVID-19, 232 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status and 87 are fully vaccinated.

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 80.1 per cent less likely to end up in hospital and 92.2 per cent less likely to end up in ICU compared to people who are unvaccinated.

According to health officials, 20 more deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours, marking the highest single-day death toll reported since May 29, 2021, when 22 deaths were logged.

The province reported 13,339 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, but health officials have warned that number is an underestimate due to testing limitations and backlogs.

With 59,241 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 29.2 per cent.

Of the 13,339 case reported Thursday, 10,648 involve people who are fully vaccinated, 1,797 are people who are unvaccinated, 452 involve people who are partially vaccinated and 442 had an unknown vaccination status.

Acknowledging population size, the science table noted on Wednesday, people who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 19.3 per cent less likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those who are unvaccinated.

The province deemed 12,036 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Wednesday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 695,786.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 841,371, including deaths and recoveries.

WHERE ARE THE NEW COVID-19 CASES IN ONTARIO

In the Greater Toronto Area, officials reported 2,645 new cases in Toronto, 1,500 new cases in Peel Region, 1,238 new cases in York Region, 772 new cases in Durham Region and 675 in Halton Region.

Officials reported 1,238 new cases in Ottawa, 665 new cases in Hamilton, 569 new cases in Waterloo region, 543 new cases in Windsor-Essex and 506 new cases in Middlesex-London.

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

According to the province’s epidemiology report, of the 13,339 new infections reported on Thursday, 946 cases were identified in children under the age of 12.

The province also recorded 1,068 cases in youth between the ages of 12 and 19 and another cases 5,522 in people between the ages of 20 and 39.

As well, officials found 3,866 cases in people between the ages of 40 and 59, 1,484 cases in people between the ages of 60 and 79 and 449 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 Jan. 4, there were 38 children between the ages of zero and four hospitalized with COVID-19.

The province reported 124 resident cases and 63 staff cases in long-term care settings across Ontario. It also noted that one of the 20 new deaths was a long-term care resident.

Officials stated that at least 291 long-term care homes are currently dealing with an outbreak.