COVID-19 hospitalization and emergency department statistics

February 22, 2024 — Hospitals and emergency departments (EDs) play a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic. The data collected for these areas can inform understanding of resource utilization and outcomes for COVID-19 patients.

From April 2022 to March 2023 (the most recent complete year of data), there were more than 120,500 hospital stays in Canada (excluding Quebec) for patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis. During the same period, more than 222,365 ED visits for COVID-19 were reported by participating jurisdictions. From April 2021 to March 2022, there were more than 125,900 hospital stays (including Quebec) and 262,700 ED visits.

Use the data tables to explore the most recent information on hospitalizations and ED visits for COVID-19 patients.

Note: Estimated costs for COVID-19 hospitalizations were updated with the most recent financial information in February 2024.

Key findings

  • Patients who were hospitalized more recently with COVID-19 (April 2022 to March 2023) were older (median age of 75 compared with 63).
  • The majority of patients (69%) who went to the ED were discharged home, while 26% were admitted to hospital. 90% of ED visits were completed within 25 hours, an increase from 15 hours the year before.
  • More than half (62%) of patients admitted to hospital were discharged home, while 10% died in the facility. The average length of stay in hospital increased to 20 days from 13 the previous year. 
  • 13% of hospital stays included an intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Among those patients with ICU stays, 39% received ventilation and 23% died in the facility.
  • The estimated total cost of COVID-19 hospital stays in Canada (excluding Quebec) from April 2022 to March 2023 is about $2.9 billion. Costs continue to increase each fiscal year.
  • The estimated average cost per COVID-19 hospital stay was $24,000, about 3 times greater than the cost of an average hospital stay.
  • Hospital stays with ICU admissions are significantly more costly than hospital stays without ICU admissions ($53,000 compared with $20,000).

Featured material

The most recent provisional 2023–2024 information on acute care hospitalizations and ED visits for patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19.

Download data tables(XLSX)

Annual data tables

These tables contain information from 2019–2020 to 2022–2023 on acute care hospitalizations and ED visits for patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19.

Download data tables(ZIP)

 

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. COVID-19 hospitalization and emergency department statistics. Accessed March 28, 2024.

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