Ontario reports fewest number of COVID-19 deaths in past week

Ontario is reporting its fewest number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the last week as the number of patients in critical care falls to its lowest level since the beginning of January.

Provincial health officials say of the 22 deaths reported Sunday, one occurred on Saturday while the rest were happened in the preceding days. It’s the fewest number of deaths since 11 were confirmed on Monday. The provincial total of Ontarians who have died as a result of the virus now stands at 12,097.

There are 1,540 people hospitalized with COVID-19, which is down 45 per cent from last week at this time. However, health officials point out not all hospitals report their data on the weekend.

The number of patients in the ICU sits at just over 400, which is the fewest in critical care since Jan. 8. Of those patients, 244 are on a ventilator.

Health officials reported 2,265 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, however that number is underreported following changes to the province’s testing policy.

A total of just under 14,000 tests were processed in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 11.8 per cent.

The province administered 37,546 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, including 13,537 second doses and just under 20,000 booster shots. There are now 92 per cent of Ontarians 12-plus who have received at least one dose of the vaccine while almost 90 per cent are now considered fully vaccinated.