Ontario is reporting 121 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,921 hospitalizations over the previous seven days — the highest reported hospitalization fee since February.
The newly reported hospitalizations from the Ministry of Health’s weekly information are a soar from 1,663 on the identical time final week when the province reported 109 deaths.
Not since Feb. 9 has Ontario seen COVID-19 hospitalizations this excessive. On that day, the province reported 2,059 folks in hospital with the virus.
The province’s weekly information launch usually contains seven particular person days value of knowledge spanning the variety of newly reported COVID-19 circumstances, hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and deaths. Last week’s launch didn’t embody three days of information from Oct. 15, 16 and 17 — which the ministry attributed to “technical difficulties.”
The new numbers paint a stark image of the rising toll of the virus, notably amid an anticipated rise in hospitalizations starting in the autumn. Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore warned final month that the chance of transmission for the novel coronavirus would enhance throughout the colder months.
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According to the information, the variety of folks in intensive care with COVID-19 dropped barely from 158 this time final week to 148. Of these, 57 sufferers required a ventilator to breathe, up from 65 the week prior.
Test positivity on Thursday was 16.1 per cent, which is down barely from 16.4 per cent final Thursday.
Positivity charges can range relying on the quantity of people that take a look at for the virus. This previous January, the province moved to restrict PCR testing to high-risk populations and settings solely.
Experts have stated reported case counts are a extreme underestimate of the particular extent of COVID-19 infections in Ontario.
The province’s wastewater sign additionally suggests the prevalence of the virus is on the rise. It is presently at its highest level in a couple of month, with extrapolations predicting a marked rise in the approaching weeks.
Meanwhile, final Friday marked 1,000 days since Toronto’s first confirmed case of COVID-19, with the town warning that as folks head indoors for fall and winter, the virus has “an elevated alternative to unfold.”
Bivalent vaccines, that are focused to assist defend towards the Omicron variant of the virus, are “a part of the mandatory safety for all,” the town stated.