Published Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:34AM EST Last Updated Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:58AM EST There are now more COVID-19 patients in Ontario’s intensive care units than at any other point during the pandemic as concerns continue to mount around the healthcare system’s ability to withstand the strain. The latest Critical Care Services Ontario report obtained by CP24 suggests that were 285 COVID-19 patients in intensive care as of Dec. 21, exceeding the first wave peak of 283 for the first time. Nearly 40 per cent of all COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care as of Dec. 21 were located in the Central health region, which covers a wide swath of territory that includes hospitals in Peel, Halton and York Regions. Another 64 of the COVID patients in the ICU were in Toronto hospitals, including 21 at Toronto General Hospital and 11 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.