Hospitals in half of US states close to capacity as Omicron continues surge

Hospitals in nearly half of US states are nearing capacity, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, as the Omicron variant has triggered a record number of cases across the country.

In 18 states at least 85% of adult intensive care unit beds were in use, while in 24 states at least 80% of staffed hospital beds were occupied, HHS data shows.

Alabama, Missouri, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin are among the states suffering a particular shortage of ICU beds.

In Texas, which this week set a new record for Covid-19 cases reported in a single day, with 75,817 total new cases, more than 92% of ICU beds are occupied, according to HHS, 34.3% of the beds occupied by Covid-19 patients.

In Wisconsin 90.6% of ICU beds are occupied, 41.4% of those with Covid-19 patients. Rhode Island and Alabama each has more than 91% of ICU beds occupied. The New York Times first reported on the HHS data.

The south has been hit particularly hard by the new variant, with states continuing to report record case numbers amid serious concern around hospital staff shortages.

On Thursday Joe Biden said 1,000 members of the military will be dispatched to help mitigate staffing crunches at hospitals across the country, with many facilities struggling because their workers are in at-home quarantines due to the virus at the same time as Covid-19 cases have surged.