Ontario reported 778 people hospitalized with COVID on Wednesday, with 165 in intensive care.

This is a 12 percent decrease in hospitalizations and no change in intensive care units from the previous day. The number of hospitalizations is approaching 800 for the second consecutive day as some experts say Ontario and Canada are entering the sixth wave.

Last Wednesday, there were 611 hospital admissions, including 174 in intensive care units.

Of the 778 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 50 percent were admitted due to the virus, while 50 percent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Among the 165 people in intensive care units infected with the virus, 73 percent were admitted because of COVID , while 26 percent were admitted for other reasons

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 2,814 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, although this is an underestimation of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to testing restrictions. The total number of cases in the province is now 1,159,470.

The number of deaths in the province rose to 12,427 with 13 additional virus-related deaths added. The Wednesday report said 12 deaths occurred in the past month and one death occurred more than a month ago.

There is a total of 1,127,307 recovered cases, representing about 97 percent of known cases. 

For vaccinations, among the population aged 12 and older, 90.9 percent are fully vaccinated. The percentage of first dose recipients is 92.8 percent. The third dose vaccination rate is 55.5 percent - and more than 7.1 million Ontario residents have received a booster dose.

For young children aged 5 to 11, the percentage of first dose recipients is 55.6 percent with 33 percent fully vaccinated.

The province administered 5,967 doses in the last day.

The government said 17,309 tests were processed in the past 24 hours. There are currently 6,724 tests under investigation.

The percentage of positive test results reached 15.1 percent.