Ontario reports over 4,100 COVID-19 hospitalizations as Ford says ‘positive news’ about restrictions is coming this week
Ontario reported over 4,100 COVID-19 hospitalizations today as Premier Doug Ford says residents can expect “positive news” this week about loosening current pandemic restrictions.
There are a record 4,183 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the province, up from 3,887 yesterday and 3,220 a week ago.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says 53.5 per cent were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and 46.5 per cent were admitted for other reasons but have tested positive.
There are 7,086 new cases of #COVID19.
Today’s numbers will be available at 10:30 a.m. at https://t.co/ypmgZbVRvn.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) January 18, 2022
Some patients go in for COVID-19, others are infected alongside another issue. In hospitals, those lines blur
Inside a busy intensive care unit in Toronto’s east end, Dr. Martin Betts often sees patients grappling with a double diagnosis: a serious health issue coupled with — or caused by — COVID-19.
As chief of critical care for the Scarborough Health Network, Betts has treated several patients with diabetic ketoacidosis, a build-up of acids in the blood that’s a life-threatening complication of diabetes, which can be triggered by viral infections.
Other people have been admitted for heart inflammation, heart attacks and even cardiac arrest caused by a SARS-CoV-2 infection — yet COVID-19 is often listed as a secondary diagnosis, a situation Betts describes as “misleading.”
