Provincial health officials verified 19 more COVID-19 deaths, as well as a decrease in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and patients in intensive care, on Thursday.
According to the Ministry of Health, there are currently 834 individuals in Ontario hospitals with the virus, down from 847 yesterday and 1,066 a week ago.
The current hospital count is the lowest since December 30, 2021.
COVID-19 infected 45 percent of hospital patients, while 55 percent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus, according to Health Minister Christine Elliott.
Of those hospitalized patients, 267 are in intensive care, compared to 302 a week ago.
Eighty per cent of ICU patients were admitted for the virus and 20 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for COVID-19, Elliott says.
According to the ministry, 17 of the confirmed deaths reported today occurred in the past month and two happened more than a month ago.
Two of the deaths were long–term care home residents.
There have been 12,497 virus-related deaths in the province since March 2020.
In the last 24 hours, provincial labs completed more than 16,600 tests, yielding a positivity rate of 10.2%, up from 9.7% a week before.
Today, Ontario identified 2,262 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases, but health experts warn that this figure is likely underestimated due to testing limitations.
In the most recent cases, 1,762 people were fully vaccinated, 259 were unvaccinated, 66 were partially vaccinated, and 175 were unvaccinated.
So far, 89 percent of eligible Ontarians aged five and up have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, 85 percent have received two doses, and nearly half of those who have received three doses have received three doses.
Source_ The Canadian Press
