„Unfortunately our situation is dire,” Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said during a Thursday afternoon news conference.
Yaffe said it’s likely that daily cases will remain high for the next while, and the number of people in hospital and intensive care will continue to go up.
There are 1,932 patients with COVID-19 in the province’s hospitals, according to the Ministry of Health. Of those, 659 are being treated in intensive care for COVID-related illnesses — also a new high — and 623 continue to test positive for the virus. Some 442 people in critical care require a ventilator to breathe.
Critical Care Services Ontario, a government agency that compiles a daily tally of hospitalizations for hospitals and health organizations, says that 64 more people with COVID-19 were admitted to ICUs on Wednesday alone.
The Ministry of Health told The Canadian Press that Ontario may activate a field hospital that was assembled in the parking lot at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto as hospitals in the city and surrounding regions struggle with an influx of patients.
Health Minister Christine Elliott has said Ontario intends to open up hundreds of additional ICU beds in the coming days and weeks. As part of that effort, a call went out to the province’s 626 long-term care homes, asking them „to do everything they can over the next two weeks to safely admit or readmit hospitalized patients waiting for a space” in a facility.
