![Ontario reports 2,081 people with COVID in hospital, 11,582 new cases](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/CP147151576.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=720&h=379&crop=1)
Ontario reports 2,081 people with COVID in hospital, 11,582 new cases
Global News
Ontario reported 2,081 people in general hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by 791 from the previous day) with 288 patients in intensive care units (up by 22).
Ontario is reporting 11,582 COVID cases on Wednesday, as hospitalizations continue to soar. The provincial case total now stands at 828,032.
Over the last three days, there were 11,352 new infections on Tuesday, 13,578 reported on Monday, and 16,714 new cases on Sunday. However, due to recent testing eligibility changes the province warns the counts are an underestimate of the true spread of the virus in the community.
Of the 11,582 new cases recorded, the data showed 1,554 were unvaccinated people, 386 were partially vaccinated people, 9,255 were fully vaccinated people and for 387 people the vaccination status was unknown.
For the regional breakdown, 2,524 cases were recorded in Toronto, 1,435 in Peel Region, 1,294 in York Region, and 699 in Durham Region. All other local public health units reported fewer than 600 new cases in the provincial report.
Ontario reported 2,081 people in hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by 791 from the previous day) with 288 patients in intensive care units (up by 22).
Hospitalizations and those in ICUs with COVID continue to rise daily as Ontario grapples to contain Omicron. Although Omicron is considered less severe than Delta, the unprecedented surge in cases has driven general hospitalizations to soar at a much faster rate. However, ICU is still rising but at a slower rate when compared to overall hospitalizations.
Staffing shortages due to the new variant have impacted hospitals as the need for beds increases.
For comparison, in the third wave peak in April 2021 which was the worst wave for hospitalizations, the province saw almost 2,400 patients in hospital wards and as many as 900 patients in ICUs with COVID among a population that was vastly unvaccinated.