Ontario health officials say more than 1,300 people are currently being treated for COVID-19, a total that has not been reported since February. The total number of people hospitalized with the disease jumped from 1,090 on Monday to 1,366 on Tuesday. The last time the number of hospitalizations exceeded 1,366 was on February 16 during the first Omicron wave, when officials reported a total of 1,403. The number of people in intensive care units in Ontario also rose on Tuesday from 184 the previous day to 190. The General Practitioner Director of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said in a press conference on Monday that he expects the number of people in the ICU with COVID-19 to continue to rise and could eventually reach 600 at the peak of this wave. Officials reported that 64 percent of ICU patients were admitted for COVID-19 and 36 percent were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive for the virus. The county reported that of the 190 people admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 on Tuesday, 30 were unvaccinated, four were partially vaccinated and 68 were fully vaccinated. The remaining 88 have an unknown vaccination status. People who are fully vaccinated with at least two doses are 71.9% less likely to end up in hospital and 85.2 percent less, according to data released by the Ontario Science Board on Monday, which takes into account population size. chances of ending up in ICUs compared to people who have not been vaccinated. Officials also reported five more COVID-19 deaths in the last 30 days. The province said it also removed one death from the cumulative count after clearing data. Since the start of the pandemic, 12,570 have died from the disease. The county reported 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, but health officials have warned that the number is underestimated due to testing restrictions and delays. With 14,183 tests processed in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province’s positive rate is about 18.7 percent. In the greater Toronto area, officials reported 460 new cases in Toronto, 177 new cases in the York area, 137 new cases in the Peel area, 112 new cases in the Durham area and 68 new cases in the Halton area. Officials also reported 140 new cases in Hamilton, 122 new cases in Simcoe Muskoka and 116 new cases in Windsor-Essex. All other areas reported less than 100 new cases on Tuesday. The county estimates that 2,282 more cases of the disease will be resolved by Tuesday, bringing the number of recovering patients in Ontario to 1,156,332. Today’s report puts the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in Ontario at 1,200,619. The county reported 86 cases of residents and 19 cases of staff in long-term care facilities across Ontario. Officials say at least 141 long-term care homes are currently experiencing an outbreak.
