Ontario's COVID-19 hospitalizations at 1,301, ICU admissions cross 200

Multiple rapid tests better at detecting COVID-19 Dr. Isaac Bogoch explains the benefit of taking two rapid antigen tests 24 hours apart to determine whether or not someone has COVID-19.

The number of patients with COVID-19 in an Ontario hospital sits at 1,301 as ICU admissions linked to the disease cross the 200 mark for the first time since mid-March.

Monday’s report marks an increase from the 1,290 patients in hospital on Sunday and 1,130 on Saturday.

Information related to incidental hospitalizations and COVID-19 vaccination data of those hospitalized was not released. It should also be noted that not all hospitals in the province report patient data over the weekend.

ICU admissions linked to the novel coronavirus have crossed 200 for the first time since March 16. Right now, there are at least 202 patients receiving intensive care -- an increase of 17 since Saturday.

The province did not report COVID-19 data on Easter Sunday.

COVID-19 modelling released by Ontario’s science table last week suggests that hospital occupancy will continue to rise in the coming weeks and that the province could see more than 600 people in the ICU at the peak of this wave in a worst-case scenario.

For context, during the peak of Ontario’s last COVID-19 wave earlier this year, ICU admissions reached 626.

However, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has maintained that the province’s health-care system can provide adequate care for those individuals if ICU admissions do in fact return to the levels seen in January.

Meanwhile, three additional deaths due to COVID-19 were reported since Saturday, pushing the province’s death toll to 12,632.

At least 4,669 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the last 48 hours, though that number is an underestimate amid restricted access to PCR testing across the province.

Those cases were identified through 20,511 tests, which the province said generated positivity rates of 19.5 per cent on Saturday and 18.7 on Sunday.

Ontario has seen 1,222,243 cases of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, including 1,174,111 recoveries.