COVID-19 hospitalizations up over previous week, 24 additional deaths confirmed

Ontario is reporting 24 additional deaths Saturday due to COVID-19 with almost 100 more patients hospitalized over the previous day.

Provincial officials report 1,684 patients in hospital due to COVID-19, an increase of 93 over the previous day. Last week, there were 1,130 patients while two weeks ago that number was 1,188.

The number of patients in ICU fell slightly but remained over 200 for the sixth straight day at 212. Of those patients, 81 of them are currently on a ventilator.

According to health officials, 46 per cent of those in hospital are due to COVID-19 while 66 per cent of patients are in critical care due to the virus.

Another 23 deaths were confirmed Saturday due to COVID-19, however, the province removed one deaths from the cumulative total following a data cleanup. Four deaths were recorded in long-term care. The total number of Ontarians who have died as a result of the virus now stands at 12,728.

The province is reporting 3,820 new infections but that number is underreported due to limitations placed on Ontario’s testing capacity.

There were 20,004 tests completed in the last 24-hour period for a test positivity rate of 17.3 per cent.

The province administered 35,549 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, just over 5,000 were booster shots and more than 27,000 were fourth doses.

Remaining mask mandates

The province on Friday extended mask mandates for long-term care, hospitals, and public transit until June 11. Those mandates were set to expire on April 27.

“To protect our progress in managing this latest wave, I am maintaining masking requirements in specific public settings where individuals who are, or may be, at increased risk of severe outcomes, are in close contact for extended periods of time,” said Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Uber Canada said as of Friday passengers and drivers are no longer required to wear a mask though the ride-share company still strongly recommends riders wear one.

Lyft, Uber’s competitor, says it will continue requiring drivers and passengers to wear masks for the time being while Beck Taxi has also announced it is keeping its mask mandate in place until further notice.

The province also announced Friday they will start to receive supplies of Evusheld, an antibody treatment for immunocompromised individuals who are not positive for COVID-19 at the time of administration. The treatment, which involves two single-dose injections and provides protection from COVID-19 for six months, is expected to be available “in the coming weeks.”