Ontario reports 3,814 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 and 527 in ICU
CBC
Ontario reported another pandemic record of 3,814 patients in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, marking the fifth straight day where the number of hospitalizations climbed.
Friday's figure is a jump of over 1,000 from the same day last week when there were 2,472 people hospitalized with the virus.
Of those in hospital with COVID-19, 53 per cent were admitted seeking treatment for for the virus, while 47 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for the virus, according to data by the Ministry of Health. That data does not list a breakdown for previous waves of the virus for comparison.
As of Friday, there are 527 people with COVID-19 in ICUs. That's a jump from 500 patients the day before and up from 338 one week ago.
Approximately 80 per cent were admitted to the ICU seeking treatment for COVID-19 and 20 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive for the illness, according to the dataset.
The seven-day rolling average of ICU admissions linked to COVID-19 now sits at 463.
Meanwhile, Ontario reported at least 10,964 new cases of the virus Friday.
As the province recently changed its guidelines to significantly limit who qualifies for a PCR test, the case total for today is likely a drastic undercount of the real situation. Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table estimates that roughly one in five cases are currently being confirmed by the province's testing regime.
For the 58,031 tests that were completed, Public Health Ontario reported a positivity rate of 21.8 per cent.
Immunocompromised Ontarians can book appointments for a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine starting Friday morning.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said appointments for moderately to severely immunocompromised people will be made available through the provincial vaccine contact centre at 8 a.m.
Moore said the move aims to provide further protection for vulnerable populations.
The province has already started administering fourth doses in long-term care homes, retirement homes and other congregate settings.
In a news conference Thursday, Moore also said transplant patients are lagging in getting their third doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is considered part of their primary series of shots.
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