Ontario reports 2,279 people with COVID in hospital, 13,339 new cases

Ontario reported 2,279 people in hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by 198 from the previous day) with 319 patients in ICUs (up by 31). Twenty more deaths were recorded.

Ontario is reporting 13,339 COVID cases on Thursday, as hospitalizations continue to increase. The provincial case total now stands at 841,371.

Over the last three days, there were 11,582 new infections on Wednesday, 11,352 reported on Tuesday, and 13,578 new cases on Monday. 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 13,339 new cases recorded, the data showed 1,797 were unvaccinated people, 452 were partially vaccinated people, 10,648 were fully vaccinated people and for 442 people the vaccination status was unknown.

For the regional breakdown, 2,645 cases were recorded in Toronto, 1,500 in Peel Region, 1,238 each in Ottawa and York Region, 772 in Durham Region, 675 in Halton, and 665 in Hamilton. All other local public health units reported fewer than 600 new cases in the provincial report.

Ontario reported 2,279 people in hospital wards with COVID-19 (up by 198 from the previous day) with 319 patients in intensive care units (up by 31).

Last Thursday, there were 965 hospitalizations with 200 in ICUs.

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. Non-urgent surgeries have been ordered to pause.