The Canadian Institute for Health Information says residents of Canada's least affluent neighbourhoods had the greatest number and percentage of COVID-19 hospitalizations and emergency department visits as of Aug. 31.
Researchers looked at COVID-19 hospitalizations in Canada excluding Quebec between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 of this year.
They found 29.2 per cent involved those living in the country's least affluent neighbourhoods, while 12.9 per cent involved those living in the most affluent neighbourhoods.
The in-hospital death rate was 21 per cent for patients who lived in poorer areas, compared with 18 per cent for those in the most well-off areas.
Patients who died in hospital had a median age of 81.