Ontario reported 27 additional deaths related to the virus on Friday, as hospitalizations fell for the second day in a row.
The health ministry says all deaths have occurred in the past month and two of those deaths have been placed in long-term care homes.
However, one death was removed from the total number of provinces today, resulting in 12,704 deaths.
There are currently 1,591 people hospitalized with the virus in Ontario hospitals, which is less than 1,626 yesterday and 1,662 on Wednesday. However, hospitalizations are increasing compared to a week ago, when employment was 1,427.
Forty-five percent of current hospital patients were admitted for COVID-19-related reasons, while 55 percent were admitted for other reasons but subsequently tested positive for the virus.
The ministry says 214 of the hospitalized patients are currently in intensive care, seven more than yesterday and 32 more than a week ago.
Among patients in the intensive care unit, 61% were admitted to COVID-19 and 39% were admitted for other reasons and tested positive for the virus.
Ontario labs have processed 20,828 tests in the past 24 hours, giving a 16.1 percent positive result, down from 18.3 yesterday and 18.8 a week ago, according to the ministry.
The province confirmed another 4,668 cases today, but Health Minister spokesman Christine Elliott said in a statement that today’s number of cases was due to data collection and “does not reflect a real daily increase in the number of cases”.
Health officials say the daily number of cases has been underestimated for months due to restrictions on access to free PCR tests, which took effect in late December.
Among recent cases, 2,939 of those infected received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, 1,022 received two doses, 489 were not fully vaccinated, and 218 had unknown vaccination status.
Infectious Diseases Specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch says the wave is affecting the health system, but not to the same extent as previous waves.
“As far as I know, this (wave) has not had a significant impact on, you know, operations. In the past, at least at the provincial level and in many different hospitals, non-emergency surgeries have been canceled. You just don’t see that during this wave, “he told CP24 on Friday.
“Of course, this wave is affecting the health system and this wave is not over. But compared to previous waves, it does not have the same degree of impact as it had, “he added.
Yesterday, the province administered more than 39,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine across the province.
So far, 90 percent of Ontario residents aged five and over have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 86 percent have received two doses, and 51 percent have received three doses.
The numbers used in this story are in the Ontario Department of Health’s daily epidemiological summary for COVID-19. The number of cases for each city or region may differ slightly from that reported by the province, as local units report figures at different times.
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