The province is reporting eight more COVID-19 deaths on Friday as both virus-related hospitalizations and intensive care admissions continue to decline.
The Ministry of Health says these eight deaths occurred in the past month and five were long-term care home residents.
Since March 2020, the province has confirmed 13,275 virus-related deaths.
The ministry says there are 669 patients with the virus in provincial hospitals, down by one from yesterday and a notable drop from 948 patients a week ago - representing a 42 per cent week-over-week decrease.
Among today’s hospitalized patients, 117 are in ICU compared to 119 on Thursday and compared to 154 a week ago. Today marks the lowest number of ICU admissions since mid-August.
The ministry says 42 per cent of COVID hospitalizations were admitted for virus-related reasons, while 57 per cent were admitted for other reasons and tested positive.
Meanwhile, 61 per cent of COVID ICU patients were taken to hospital for virus-related reasons and 38 per cent were admitted for other reasons and subsequently tested positive.
Provincial labs processed nearly 10,100 tests in the past 24 hours, producing a positivity rate of 7.3 per cent compared to 8.4 per cent this time a week ago, the ministry says.
The province confirmed 888 more coronavirus cases today, however health officials say daily case counts are an underestimate due to limited PCR testing.
Among the latest cases, 566 of the individuals have received three or four doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, 149 have received two doses, 101 are partially or unvaccinated and 72 have an unknown vaccination status.
Mask mandates are set to be lifted in all remaining high-risk indoor settings, including long-term care homes and transit, on June 11.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr. Susy Hota says cases are expected to continue declining in the summer but could rise slightly later this month with the lifting of mask mandates and other factors.
“I'm already seeing less masking in public areas and even on transit where it's still recommended. So we'll have to watch things closely. And the other variable is different variants that could be going around,” she told CP24 Friday morning.
“I think we just have to continue to maintain the same kind of vigilance and caution that we have through previous waves.”
Yesterday, health officials administered 16,984 vaccine doses across the province.
So far, 90 per cent of Ontarians aged five years and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 87 per cent have received two doses and 52 per cent have received three doses.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
