Ontario reports 9 new COVID-19 deaths, ICU admissions down 8% from last week

Ontario is reporting nine new COVID-19 deaths on Sunday as the number of patients in critical care due to the virus continues to decline.

While there was no update on the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, provincial officials say there are 228 patients in ICU, with 123 of them are currently on ventilators. The number of critical care patients has fallen eight per cent over the past week.

Of the 9 deaths reported Sunday, one occurred more than a month ago and was added due a data cleanup.

The number of Ontarians who have died as a result of coronavirus now stands at 12,256. The total reflects a reduction of almost 400 deaths since the province changed how virus-related deaths are broken down on Friday.

Health officials report 1,631 new cases of COVID-19, however that number is underreported due to restrictions placed on who is eligible for PCR testing in the province.

A total of 11,874 tests were performed in the last 24-hour period, dropping the positivity rate 11.7 per cent.

The province administered 15,142 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, including just over 5,000 second doses and 8,378 booster shots. Almost 91 per cent of Ontarians are considered fully vaccinated with two doses.

As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into a third year, many experts are expressing cautious optimism that Canada has passed the need for lockdowns and the widespread safety protocols that marked much of the last 24 months.

While hospitalizations and other pandemic markers appear to have dipped or stabilized throughout the country, virologist Jason Kindrachuk says the COVID-19 crisis can’t be considered over until it subsides across the globe.

“A critical part of learning to live with the virus is continuing to learn about the virus itself and adopting recommendations and protocols around that information,” Kindrachuk says.

“We aren’t at the point yet where this virus has become endemic.”