The new deaths reported Thursday are an increase from 74 the previous week. The increase in deaths comes just two weeks after Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore announced that those who test positive for the virus no longer need to self-isolate for a period of five days. Instead, the new guidelines ask people to stay home until their fever is gone and their symptoms improve for at least 24 hours, wearing a mask in all settings for 10 days afterward. Members of the now-defunct scientific panel said they would have advised against lifting the quarantine period if they had been consulted on the move. The latest wave of the disease to hit Ontario — which began on June 19 — is fueled by other variants of Omicron, BA. 4 and NE. 5. Moore said the seventh wave peaked in early August. Deaths are considered a “lag indicator,” one of the serious effects that can continue to mount even after a wave has peaked. Newly released figures from the Ontario Ministry of Health on Thursday show that the number of people hospitalized with the virus fell from 1,248 last week to 1,167 as of Thursday. However, the number of people in intensive care due to COVID-19 remained relatively stable at 130, down slightly from 136 the previous week. Of those in intensive care, 57 patients are on ventilators, up from 47 last week. Thursday’s test positivity, however, was 12.2 percent, about the same as last week’s positivity rate of 12.3. The positivity rate can vary depending on the number of people tested for the virus. Last January, the province moved to limit PCR testing to only high-risk populations and settings. This week, the province is seeing roughly just over 12,000 new cases a day based on limited testing. Experts said the reported case numbers are a serious underestimate of the true extent of COVID-19 infections in Ontario. Bookings for bivalent vaccines opened for all from 8am. ET Monday, though appointments for especially vulnerable people will be prioritized until Sept. 26 before being extended to all residents 18 and older.
Only a quarter of the seats booked in the next 2 weeks
Meanwhile, Moore says that in the next two weeks only 20,000 of a possible 80,000 appointments have been booked. “[We have] lots of appointments available, we have the vaccine, we have the partnerships, we just need people to realize that we all need to protect ourselves for this winter and maximize our level of protection at the community level,” he said in an interview Thursday. “I know the weather is great and everyone is outdoors, but soon we will be indoors and the risk of transmission will increase.” About 22,000 bivalent vaccines have been administered since they became available on Monday, ministry officials said. Ontarians aged 70 and over, long-term care residents, health care workers, Indigenous people and their adult household members, immunocompromised people aged 12 and over and pregnant women are now eligible for the booster Omicron targeting. All others aged 18 and over can book now for appointments from 26 September. The Department of Health said the recommended wait between shots is six months from the last booster dose, but the minimum interval is 84 days.
