Ontario reports 1,135 COVID-19 hospitalizations as positivity rate nears 20 per cent

Questioning easing mask mandates amid sixth wave The COVID-19 case count is rising much faster than anticipated in the sixth wave following the lifting of most mask mandates.

Ontario health officials are reporting 1,135 people in hospital with COVID-19 Friday, including 166 patients in intensive care.

Of Friday’s hospitalizations, 179 patients are unvaccinated and 690 are fully vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is unknown.

Forty-five per cent of patients being treated for COVID-19 in hospital Friday were admitted due to the virus, while the remaining 55 per cent tested positive after an unrelated admission. In ICUs, those percentages are 64 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.

Of Ontario patients currently being treated for COVID-19 in ICUs, 25 are unvaccinated and 70 are fully vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining patients is unknown.

Officials also reported ten new deaths due to COVID-19. Officials said six of the deaths occurred over the past 30 days, while four of them took place over a month ago.

Since the start of the pandemic, 12,537 individuals have lost their lives due to the disease.

With 17,565 tests processed in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health says the province's positivity rate is about 19 per cent.

The province reported 4,295 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, but health officials have warned that number is a significant underestimation due to testing limitations and backlogs.

Wastewater data, provided by Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Table, confirms an increase in infection provincially. In nearly every region in the province the concentration of the disease in wastewaters has started to rise, prompting officials to state Ontario has officially entered a sixth COVID-19 wave.

The province deemed 2,644 more cases of the disease to be resolved as of Friday, bringing Ontario's number of recovered patients up to 1,147,533.

Today's report brings the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ontario to 1,188,640.