Ontario COVID-19 hospitalizations remain below 900, 3 more deaths

Ontario COVID-19 hospitalizations now sit at 849 as the province reports three additional deaths on Monday.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province hit its lowest point since the start of the Omicron wave on Sunday with 842 hospitalizations reported. It marked the first time that number fell below 1,000 since December.

Hospitalizations are down more than 200 since one week ago. It is important to note that more than 10 per cent of hospitals do not report numbers on the weekends.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU now sits at 279 and there are 171 ICU patients on a ventilator.

#COVID19 ICU in #Ontario ????????
ICU total: 279
ICU non-ventilated: 108
ICU+ventilator: 171#COVIDー19 #COVID19Ontario #onpoli pic.twitter.com/mYChegkRuE

— Dr. Jennifer Kwan (@jkwan_md) February 28, 2022

Provincial health officials are reporting 1,315 new cases on Monday. Officials warn that number is underreported following changes to the province’s testing policy.

There were 12,116 tests completed in the previous day for a test positivity rate of 8.9 per cent.

As of Monday, 92.6 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 90.5 have received two doses.

Ontario will further ease pandemic restrictions on Tuesday with remaining capacity limits for indoor settings coming to an end.

The eased capacity restrictions will coincide with the end of proof of vaccination requirements. Businesses and other settings can choose to continue to require proof vaccination beyond that date if they wish to do so.

The province has yet to provide any timeline for ending masking requirements but says a timeline to lift them will come later.