Hospitalizations rise as Ontario confirms record 16K-plus new COVID cases Friday

For the third straight day Ontario is reporting a single-day record of new COVID-19 cases as updated testing and isolation measures take effect across the province.

Provincial health officials confirmed 16,713 new infections on Friday, however, health experts warn the precise number is higher due to testing limits at hospitals and appointment centres.

The province reported 13,807 cases on Thursday.

Of the new cases, 3,277 are in individuals who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or have an unknown vaccine status while 13,436 are fully vaccinated individuals.

The seven-day average of new cases is up to 11,348.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 topped 1,000 for the first time since May 28.

According to provincial data, 1,144 people are currently in hospital due to COVID-19. Of those patients, 205 are in the ICU with 104 of them requiring a ventilator. Two weeks ago, there were 157 ICU patients.

The seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 related patients in the ICU is now up to 185.

Graph courtesy @jkwan_md

The province says it completed 75,093 tests in the last 24-hour period, for a positivity rate of 29.8 per cent. The testing backlog sits at 106,173.

On Thursday, the province changed its testing guidelines by making publicly-funded PCR tests available to only high-risk individuals who are symptomatic or are at risk of severe illness. Non-vulnerable individuals who test positive using a rapid antigen test or are experiencing mild symptoms of the virus will no longer be required to get confirmation via a PCR or molecular test.

The province administered 195,809 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, including just over 11,000 first doses and almost 179,000 booster shots.

An additional 15 people have died as a result of COVID-19, the highest single-day total since Dec. 10. It brings the provincial total to 10,194.

As of today, most fully vaccinated individuals will only need to self-isolate for five days provided they no longer have symptoms of the virus. Ontarians who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or immunocompromised and test positive are still required to self-isolate for 10 days. This is part of a new set of isolation and testing guidelines released by the province on Thursday.

The Ford government is also delaying a return to in-person learning for students until January 5 in order to implement additional safety measures that include deploying 3,000 more HEPA filters to school boards while providing N95 masks to staff.