As the number of COVID-19 positive patients in intensive care held steady, the overall number in London hospital fell for the third time this week.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reported on Wednesday that it has three fewer patients with COVID-19 in its care for a total of 116 inpatients with the virus. The number of people with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit was unchanged at 22 and at Children’s Hospital there are five or fewer patients with COVID-19, unchanged from Tuesday.
The LHSC specified that, of the 116 COVID-19 patients at its hospitals, 74 are being treated for COVID-19, while 42 were admitted for other reasons but have the virus.
The number of hospital workers who have tested positive for the virus was unchanged on Wednesday, remaining at 141. Compared to a week ago it is down 51 from 192 infected employees.
There were no additional COVID-19 deaths in the London region, which is only the second day this month the single-day death toll has been zero. The total death toll in London and Middlesex County since the pandemic began is now 317, with 17 of those deaths occurring this month alone.
The health unit logged 139 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, up from 70 the previous day. Resolved cases increased to 28,620, which helped lower the number of active cases locally to 1,431. However, public health officials have said current case numbers are likely an underestimation of the true number of people with the virus due to eligibility changes for lab-based PCR testing.
Southwestern Public Health reported 91 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 10,672. The death toll increased by one to 144. Resolved cases rose to 10,039. There are now 489 active cases in the two counties.
The number of hospitalizations and intensive care admissions at Ontario hospitals were down on Wednesday.
A total of 2,059 people infected with the virus are currently in hospitals across the province. That is down 195 from Tuesday. Fifty-six per cent of the 2,059 people in hospital on Wednesday were admitted because of the virus, while 44 per cent are there for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.
Of those in hospital, 449 are in the ICU, down 25 from the previous day. Roughly 80 per cent of those in the ICU were admitted because of COVID-19, while the remaining 20 per cent are there for other reasons but also have the virus.
The province recorded 3,162 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which is considered an underestimate of community spread. Daily case numbers are no longer thought to be a true reflection of spread of the virus in the province as the government has limited who is eligible for a free PCR test. The distribution of rapid tests is being expanded though. The provincial government announced on Wednesday it will be distributing 5 million rapid test kits each week for eight weeks through more than 2,300 pharmacies and grocery stores across Ontario. A limit of one box of five tests per household per visit is being placed on the kits.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 1,061,403.
According to public health officials, there were 66 additional deaths related to the virus recorded Wednesday. Sixty-five of those deaths occurred over the past 30 days and one occurred more than a month ago but was just added to the official count as part of a data cleanup. The official death toll now stands at 11,944.
Resolved cases across the province are up by 4,992 to 1,019,277.
In the last 24 hour period, 22,906 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is now 11.9 per cent.
The province has administered 31,105,664 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday night. More than 89 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received both doses of the vaccine. There are more than 6.6 million people in the province who have now received the booster shot.
