ICU admissions in Ontario hit another COVID-19 pandemic record high

Admissions to intensive care units (ICU) across Ontario continued to climb Thursday, as the province hit another record high since the pandemic started last year.

A daily report by Critical Care Services Ontario, which tracks hospitalizations, stated 430 people are currently in the ICU with a COVID-19-related critical illness, up from 421 the day before.

“This is the new highest number of COVID patients in critical care in this pandemic,” Anthony Dale, the president of the Ontario Hospital Association, said in a tweet.

In a letter to the Ford government, 153 ICU physicians said that the province is at a “critical point in the pandemic” and that new public health measures need to be implemented immediately.

The physicians noted that variants of concern have been quickly spreading across Ontario, which has impacted ICU capacity.

“About 4 in 10 patients who come to the ICU with COVID will die,” the latter states. “We are seeing younger patients on ventilators—many are parents of school-aged children.”

Earlier this week, the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table said in its report that ICUs have been facing a capacity crunch.

The report noted that 46 per cent of ICU admissions between March 15 and March 21 were people aged 59 and younger.

With files from The Canadian Press