TORONTO – Covid-19 hospitalizations in Ontario and the rest of Canada are falling significantly. The trend of the last few weeks is therefore confirmed, negative only in terms of deaths: their number in fact has always been high and only in the last few days has there been a sharp decline – both in Ontario and Quebec – which, hopefully, will be confirmed in the week just started. But let’s go in order and let’s start from Ontario.

Today’s data is not available in Ontario due to the Family Day holiday, but we can analyze those of the weekend.

On Sunday, the hospitalization rate and the positivity rate dropped to levels not seen since the end of December. 1,056 patients were present in the hospitals of the province on Sunday, therefore much less than in the previous days when their number had already dropped. In intensive care, 324 people with Covid-19, the lowest number since last January 6 when there were 319.

19 deaths on Sunday, bringing the total to Ontario, since the beginning of the pandemic, 12,264.

As for the new cases, 1,966 were reported on Sunday – a number far from reality, as the molecular tests were limited only to “at risk” categories. 16,752 tests processed, for a positive test rate of 9.1%, down from res chest last week.

Most of the new infections on Sunday were identified in the Greater Toronto Area: 261 in Toronto, 71 in the York region, 174 in the Peel region and 88 in the Durham region. The only other area with more than 100 cases is Ottawa with 139 infections. The number of active and known cases in Ontario is now 21,302.

Sharp drop in deaths in Quebec, where today – the data in this case are available – 3 deaths were reported, bringing the total in the province, since the beginning of the pandemic, to 13,856.

The number of hospitalized is 1,776, an increase of 18 people compared to Saturday. 119 patients in intensive care, with an increase of 5. Increase however small and far from the “surges” recorded during the month of January.

As for the new cases, the French-speaking province reported 1,064 – a number not very credible, as in Ontario. The data of the government portal in which citizens can self-declare the results of do-it-yourself tests performed at home are more reliable: yesterday, the results of 474 rapid swabs were entered and 363 were positive.

Let’s finally see the state of hospitalizations in Canada, province by province: Quebec 1.776, Alberta 1.494, Ontario 1.056, British Columbia 733, Saskatchewan 443, Manitoba 302, New Brunswick 78, Nova Scotia 54, Newfoundland and Labrador 13, Prince Edward Island 1.

In the pic, a laboratory worker is using a pcr swab in a hospital (photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash)