The number of Ontarians whose deaths have been linked to COVID-19 has surpassed 15,000.

The grim milestone was reached late last week but was not confirmed publicly at the time, as Ontario only updates its COVID-19 data on Thursdays.

The latest data suggests that another 105 net new deaths were added to Ontario’s pandemic over the last week, bringing the total number of fatalities linked to COVID-19 over the nearly three year life of the pandemic to 15,087.

Ontario previously reached 10,000 deaths on Nov. 30 of last year.

It should be noted that while a surge in respiratory infections has overwhelmed pediatric intensive care units in Ontario, the number of adults testing positive for COVID-19 in hospitals could be on the decline.

The latest data from the ministry reveals that there 1,390 people in hospital testing positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, down about 17 per cent from one week prior.

The number of those patients needing treatment in intensive care was also down about 17 per cent week-over-week and now stands at 119.

That is the lowest that number has been since Sept. 24.

Meanwhile, the seven-day positivity rate on PCR tests continued its recent descent, dropping from 13.73 per cent last week to 11.6 per cent this week.

It’s good news on the surface, however officials have cautioned that Ontario’s healthcare system remains under immense strain as it faces the now “triple threat” of RSV, influenza and COVID-19.

Speaking with CP24 earlier on Thursday, infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch said that we are unfortunately “in for a big influenza season” but he said that people can protect themselves by getting their flu shot and wearing a mask.

“It started a bit earlier this year and it came out of the gate really quickly. Does that mean it is going to end a bit earlier this year? We just don’t know,” he said. “”But there are things that are in our control. We have excellent vaccines that are widely available and of course we know with all the respiratory viruses you can reduce your risk of getting infected by wearing masks.”

Wastewater surveillance data from Public Health Ontario has suggested that the level of COVID-19 viral activity in the province has been on the decline since late October, even as the spread of influenza and RSV continues to accelerate.