Ontario reports 661 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 10 more deaths on Thursday

Ontario isreporting 661 people hospitalized with COVID-19and 10more deaths linked to the virus on Thursday, as the number of patients in intensive care continues to slowly decline.

The number of hospitalizations is upfrom 611on Wednesday and649one week ago.

About 45per cent of those admitted to hospital were directly seeking treatment for COVID-19 symptoms, while 55per cent were admitted for other reasons but have since tested positive for the virus.

According to the Ministry of Health, there are 165patients in intensive care, which is slightly down from 179reported on Wednesday and 199 at thistime last week.

Roughly 79per cent of those patients were admitted to ICU specifically for the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons but also tested positive for the virus.

The 10deaths reported Thursday pushthe official death toll to 12,366.

Another2,561new cases have also been logged through limitedPCRtesting, though the province's science table estimated last weekthe current daily number of infections is between 15,000 to 20,000, based on wastewater data.

Wastewater signal data on the rise

New wastewater signal data published by the science table this week indicates that infections are on the rise in Ontario, just days after the province scrapped mask mandates in most indoor settings.

In itslatest modelling, the group of expert pandemic advisers projected a rise in hospitalizations and ICU occupancy will likely come as more public health measures are lifted.

The estimate was based on a "slight uptick" that was seen in wastewater data as of last week. According to the latest data,all regions of the province are seeing increased levels of COVID-19 transmission, as of Tuesday.