Ontario's top doctor to speak about plan to 'live with' COVID-19 Wednesday morning

Ontario's top doctor will hold a briefing on the province's plan to "live with and manage COVID-19" on Wednesday morning, replacing what was to be his final planned pandemic news conference originally set for Thursday.

An hour before that, at 10 a.m. Premier Doug Ford is set to make an announcement alongsideDeputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott, the premier's office says. No details have been provided on the topic of the announcement.

In his previous news conference last Thursday, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore told reporters the province could lift its mask mandate by the end of March if key pandemic indicators continue to improve.

Moore also said the actual number new COVID-19 cases each day is likely 10 times higher than what is being reported through limited PCR testing.

Ontario reported another 1,208 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, putting the actual number of new cases around 12,000.

The news comes as Ontarioreports779people in hospital with COVID-19 and 17 more deaths linked to the virus on Tuesday.

Today's reported hospitalizations mark a rise from Monday when693 were reported, butaredown from 914 thistime last week.

According to the Ministry of Health, about 44per cent of those admitted to hospital were seeking treatment for COVID-19 symptoms, while 56per cent were admitted for other reasons but have since tested positive for the virus.

Of the hospitalizations reported, there are 246patients in intensive care, marking a slight dip from 249 on Monday and 278 exactly one week ago.

About 82 per cent of those patients were admitted to ICU specifically for the virus, while the rest were admitted for other reasons but also tested positive for the virus.

The 17 additional deaths reportedTuesday pushthe official death toll to 12,591.