The Porcupine Health Unit is aware of 33 hospitalizations across the region, said medical officer of health Dr. Lianne Catton.
With changes in who can access COVID-19 testing leading to underestimated daily cases counts, more focus has been put on hospitalizations.
“We know that things are starting to shift and we know that reporting will change and we will be following that along with the province and we will be changing as we move forward in the pandemic. And when we start to make those changes we will let all of you know how that will look in the future,” said Catton in a virtual update today.
The PHU does not actively report daily hospitalizations. Catton did not clarify how many admissions in the region were for COVID-19 and how many tested positive after being admitted for another reason.
With the current wave of the pandemic driven by the omicron variant, Timmins and District Hospital has started providing daily updates.
Today, the hospital reported 25 patients at the hospital have COVID-19. Four of those patients were admitted for COVID-related reasons. There are 73 people who have been tested and are waiting for results or who will be tested.
According to provincial data, in the north there are 85 people with COVID-19 in hospital. There are 15 people in ICU and nine people on ventilators.
Today's provincial reporting clarified the number of patients in ICU with a COVID-related critical illness. Across the province, Minister of Health Christine Elliott said today there are 600 ICU beds available and 500 beds could be added if needed.
Starting tomorrow (Jan. 12), Elliott said the daily data from the province will show hospitalizations due to COVID-19 versus those being admitted for other reasons.
Today, the Porcupine Health Unit reported 35 new COVID cases and 15 recoveries.
For the new cases, 19 are in Timmins, three are in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls and Smooth Rock Falls, six are in Hearst and Hornepayne, three are in the Kapuskasing area and four are in the James Bay area.
To date, there have been 3,616 confirmed cases in the region. Of those, 2,726 are recovered and 31 people have died. There are 859 known active cases — 520 in Timmins, 107 in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls and Smooth Rock Falls, 67 in the Kapuskasking area, 70 in Hearst and Hornepayne, 94 in the James Bay area, and one out of region.
