Ontario's COVID-19 hospitalizations highest in 8 months; 121 new deaths reported

Ontario is reporting 1,921 hospitalizationsof people with COVID-19 the highest reported hospitalization rate since February, along with 121more deaths.

The hospitalizationsare a jump from 1,663 at the same time last week, whenthe province reported 109 more deaths.

Not since Feb. 9has Ontario seen COVID-19 hospitalizations this high. On that day, the province reported2,059 people in hospital with the virus.

The Ministry of Health's weekly data release normally includes seven individual daysworth of information spanning the number of newly reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and deaths. Last week's release did not includethree days of data fromOct. 15, 16 and 17 which the ministry attributed to "technical difficulties."

The new numberspainta stark picture of the growing toll of the virus, particularly amid an expected rise in hospitalizations beginning in the fall.Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore warned last month that the risk of transmission for the novel coronavirus wouldincrease during the colder months.

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According to thedata, the number of people in intensive care withCOVID-19 dropped slightly from 158 this time last week to 148.Of those, 57patients required a ventilator to breathe, up from 65 the week prior.

Test positivity on Thursday was 16.1 per cent, which is down slightly from 16.4 per cent last Thursday.

Positivity rates can vary depending onthe number of people who test for the virus. This past January, the province moved to limit PCR testing to high-risk populations and settings only.

Experts have said reported case counts are a severe underestimate of the actual extent of COVID-19 infectionsin Ontario.

The province's wastewater signal also suggests the prevalence of the virus is on the rise. It is currently at its highest point in about a month, with extrapolations predicting a marked rise in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, last Friday marked 1,000 days since Toronto'sfirst confirmed case of COVID-19, with the city warningthat as people head indoors for fall and winter, the virus has "an increased opportunity to spread."

Bivalent vaccines, which are targeted to help protect against the Omicron variant of the virus, are "part of the necessary protection for all," the citysaid.