Ontario reports nearly 10K new COVID-19 cases, ICU numbers stay flat
Posted December 24, 2021 9:44 am.
Last Updated December 24, 2021 1:06 pm.
Ontario is reporting 9,571 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.
The daily total shatters the previous high of 5,790 new infections that came a day earlier. It is more than triple the 3,124 new cases reported on Friday last week.
“Due to the highly-transmissible nature of the Omicron variant, it was expected that case numbers would increase in the winter months,” reads a statement from the Ministry of Health. “We expect they will continue to increase over the coming days and weeks, as other jurisdictions are seeing similar case rate increases per capita.”
Experts believe the testing backlog in the province means the true number of infections caused by the Omicron variant is actually much higher than being reported. The province saw a record high test positivity rate of 16 per cent on Thursday.
There were 72,639 tests completed in the last 24-hour period for a test positivity rate of 18.7 per cent. It marks the highest positivity rate the province has recorded since the onset of the pandemic, eclipsing the previous record of 16 per cent that came one day ago.
Graphic courtesy of @jkwan_md
Hospitalizations and ICU numbers have risen slightly in recent weeks, but the numbers still remain significantly lower than the last time the province was seeing record case counts. There are 508 people hospitalized in the province compared to nearly 2,000 during the peak of the third wave in April.
There are 164 people in the ICU due to COVID-19 — down five from one day ago. Ontario is also reporting six additional deaths as a result of the virus.
“While the province’s ICUs continue to remain stable, we expect the number of admissions to rise in the coming weeks, particularly among the unvaccinated,” says a spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott.
“Vaccines remain the best protection against Omicron, and Ontario continues to urgently ramp up its capacity to administer COVID-19 vaccines, with over 253,000 doses administered Wednesday.”
Individuals who are not fully vaccinated represent 22.7 per cent of the province’s population. Those not fully vaccinated or with an unknown status make up 69.9 per cent of hospitalizations and 82.9 per cent of ICU patients.
The latest preliminary findings from the U.K. Health Security Agency add to emerging evidence that Omicron produces significantly milder illness than other variants, such as Delta, even though it spreads much faster and better evades vaccines.
Graphic courtesy of @jkwan_md
Locally, there are 2,456 new cases in Toronto, 1,113 in Peel Region, 604 in York Region, 349 in Durham Region and 745 in Halton Region.
There were another 1,997 resolved infections across the province.
The rolling seven-day average of new cases has doubled in just six days and now sits at 4,922, the highest it has ever reached. The weekly average previously peaked at 4,370 in April.
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Isaac Bogoch says he expects cases to continue to rise with more opportunities for transmission as people gather for the holidays. He estimates a peak could occur shortly after Jan. 1.
In their latest pandemic modelling two weeks ago, Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table projected case counts could reach 10,000 per day and ICU occupancy would surpass 600 by the end of the month if no further public health measures were implemented.
The Ford government announced new restrictions last week that lowered capacity limits at most indoor settings and reduced social gathering limits. The new measures went into effect on Sunday.
