Ontario mayor calls for overhaul of 'misleading' COVID-19 hospitalization data

An Ontario mayor is calling on the province to overhaul how it reports pandemic hospitalizations, saying that the COVID-19 data reported daily is 'misleading.'

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday he has heard from a number of physicians that COVID-19 hospitalization numbers may not necessarily paint an accurate picture of the current situation in the province.

In Ontario, anyone who is being treated in hospital who tests positive for COVID-19 is added to government's count of "patients hospitalized with COVID-19," regardless of whether that’s why they are receiving treatment.

There are currently 726 people in Ontario hospitals testing positive for COVID-19, while 190 are in the ICU. 

While Brown said he can’t speak to COVID-19 hospitalizations in other parts of the province, in Brampton approximately 50 per cent of people in hospital diagnosed with COVID-19 were admitted for another reason.