Ontario announced 35 more COVID-19 deaths, as hospitalizations continue to fall, on Saturday.
The deaths occurred during the last 24 days, according to a Ministry of Health official, with three deaths yesterday, eight on February 10, and four on February 9.
The total number of people who have died as a result of the virus is 12,075.
In Ontario hospitals, there are currently 1,704 individuals with the virus, down from 1,829 yesterday and 2,493 a week ago.
Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted that 53 per cent of hospital patients were admitted for COVID-19 and 47 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, 414 of the hospital patients are in intensive care, down from 501 a week ago, and 267 are breathing with the help of a ventilator.
Eighty-one per cent of ICU patients were admitted to hospital for the virus and 19 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive, Elliott said.
The ministry noted that the latest data on deaths, hospitalizations and ICUs should be “interpreted with caution” due to data entry and reporting lags.
Ontario labs processed over 18,900 tests in the past 24 hours, producing a positivity rate of 11.2 per cent, down from 12.1 per cent a week ago, according to the ministry.
Ontario reported 2,944 new COVID-19 cases today, but health officials say that is an underestimate due to testing restrictions.
Among those cases, 1,980 of the individuals are fully vaccinated, 474 are unvaccinated, 136 are partially vaccinated and 354 have an unknown vaccination status.
So far, 89 per cent of Ontarians aged five years and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 84 per cent have received two doses and 48 per cent have received three doses.
To date, there have been 1,070,455 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,030,423 recoveries since Jan. 2020.
Yesterday, Premier Doug Ford said plans are in the works to remove Ontario’s vaccination passport system which requires people to show proof that they are fully vaccinated in many indoor settings.
“Today we are on track to very soon remove almost all restrictions for businesses as a part of our reopening plan,” Ford said during a news conference Friday. “And we heard from Dr. Moore last week, and again yesterday that he is now working on a plan that will allow us to remove the vaccine passport system.”
In Ontario, people are currently required to show proof of vaccination at restaurants, gyms, cinemas and other indoor settings.
Source_ globalnews.ca
