COVID-19 Omicron cases are spiking all over the US. Many hospitals report that their beds and intensive care units are now 70 percent occupied. Fortunately, there are two online tools available for checking US hospital inpatient bed utilization in the circumstance that somebody needs to be admitted.
Many Americans have struggled with the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. This is a new strain of virus that coincides with the spread of the Delta variant. Notably, these two created a massive surge of cases in the Christmas holidays. Nearly all the states report about hospital constraints.
COVID-19 Omicron Cases: US Hospitals Filled
Forbes reported the statistics of ongoing hospital admissions early this December. At the time, it said that in the U.S., there are 611,917 hospital beds (roughly 78.7 percent) and 65,226 intensive care units (roughly 79.3. percent) currently occupied. Notably, only 59,579 hospital beds (roughly 7.75 percent) and 13,736 ICU beds (roughly 17.53 percent) are COVID-19 patients.
Some states are struggling more than others. Rhode Island has the lowest statewide hospital capacity at the moment, with 87.97 percent of its beds in full use. Massachusetts comes in second, with 87.63 percent of its beds occupied. Seventeen other states are in similar conditions with all of their hospitals more than 80 percent occupied:
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Washington
According to Forbes, over 149,222 new COVID-19 cases were reported on December 3, which went up with another 68,359 cases in the week before. The sudden surge can be linked to the holiday season, where Christmas gatherings led to massive exposure.
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Even more devastating is the fact that children's COVID-19 cases doubled in the past week. Dr. Stanley Spinner, the chief medical officer in Texas Children's Pediatrics & Urgent Care in Houston, told CNN that "I think we are going to see more numbers now than we have ever seen. Cases are continuing to rise between Christmas gatherings, and we're going to continue to see more numbers this week from that."
COVID-19 Omicron Variant Hospital Tracker: Online Tools
In the unfortunate circumstance where a COVID-19 victim needs to be admitted, families are recommended to do their research for available hospitals ahead of time. There are two available online tools that can help make the process a lot easier.
- Hospital Utilization: this online page displays visualization and infographics on the status of hospitals all over the US. This tool will also display information on available ICU beds and the number of suspected COVID-19 cases in the hospital. The tool updates weekly, and users can easily download or print the data.
- NPR Hospital Tracker: this online tool displays a hospital's availability and location depending on the state. It also classifies the hospital's admission by average with low, moderate, high and extreme. This tool best helps users who want to find the nearest available hospital in their area.
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