COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals 11% lower than last week
Ottawa: Severe illness trends continue to decline, with weekly reductions reported in most jurisdictions. The latest provincial and territorial data shows that the average number of people with COVID-19 being treated in hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (Mar 11-17, 2022), was 11% lower than last week.
During the same time period, the number of people who were being treated in intensive care units (ICU) daily decreased by 14% compared to the prior week, and an average of 51 deaths were reported daily (Mar 11-17, 2022). Keeping infection rates down remains key to further reducing severe illness trends and protecting vulnerable populations over the coming weeks.
The latest provincial and territorial data indicate that over 81% of the total population are now fully vaccinated. Age-specific vaccine coverage data, as of March 13, 2022, show that over 88% of people 12 years or older have at least one dose and over 84% are fully vaccinated, while among children aged 5-11 years of age, 57% have at least one dose. Yesterday, Health Canada authorized the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine (50 mcg) for children 6 to 11 years of age.
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada said that as we expect the SARS-CoV-2 virus to continuously evolve, we are closely monitoring the domestic and international situation and preparing for new variants. The BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant is increasing in Canada but at a slow rate.
