COVID-19 hospitalizations up 22% in last week as BA.2 accounts for majority of new cases

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are up almost 22 per cent week-over-week as the BA.2 strain of the virus now accounts for the majority of new cases in Ontario.

The province is reporting 977 patients are in hospital with COVID-19 on Sunday, however, more than 10 per cent of hospitals did not submit their most recent data so that figure is considered underreported. A week ago, there were 763 patients.

The number of patients in ICU has climbed to 173 – a four per cent increase in admissions over the previous week. Of those patients, 88 of them are on a ventilator.

Health officials confirmed 15 new deaths on Sunday, with four occurring more than a month ago and added to the total due to a data clean up. The number of Ontarians who have died due to coronavirus now stands at 12,563.

The province reported 3,481 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, however, that number is underreported due to changes in who is eligible to receive a PCR test in the province.

Wastewater surveillance has suggested Ontario is likely seeing between 100,000 and 120,000 new cases a day, levels not seen in the province since the January peak.

The province says it processed 16,816 tests in the previous 24-hour period, for a test positivity rate of 17.6 per cent.

Ontario administered 24,861 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday including 5,311 booster shots. This is the first weekend Ontarians aged 60 and over are able to book appointments to get a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot, however, the province has not provided specific data as to how many individuals have received a fourth dose since appointments opened on Thursday.

Eligible individuals can book appointments through the province’s vaccine portal.

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In its latest Evidence and Risk Assessment report, Public Health Ontario says BA.2 is now the dominant strain in the province, accounting for 54 per cent of all cases as of March 19.

The provincial health agency says the rise in cases and hospitalizations corresponds to the lifting of mask mandates on March 21.

It goes on to say that while high vaccine uptake and immunity from previous infections may soften the number of severe cases in adults, the number of children under 12 with severe disease is likely to increase.

“This may impact pediatric hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) capacity, and also lead to further disruption to in-person learning in Ontario,” it says.

PHO says a “cautious, temporary approach to re-implementing some less restrictive community-based public health measures” – not just in schools but in the public at large – will go a long way to mitigating the current upward trend.

The provincial public health authority concludes by saying evidence that a new variant of concern could emerge and drastically change the course of the pandemic “continues to grow.”