Nearly all U.S. states have at least 70% of their hospital and intensive care unit beds occupied and could face hospital constraints if coronavirus cases continue to surge amid the spread of the delta variant and new omicron variant.

A nurse cares for a Covid-19 patient inside the ICU (intensive care unit) at Adventist Health in ... [+] Sonora, California on August 27, 2021. - The hospital has had 72 hospitalizations due to Covid-19 since August 1, 2021, of which 11 have died from complications of the virus. (Photo by Nic Coury / AFP) (Photo by NIC COURY/AFP via Getty Images)

There are 611,917 (78.7%) hospital beds and 65,226 (79.3.%) intensive care units occupied in the U.S., with Covid-19 patients occupying 59,579 (7.75%) of hospital beds and 13,736 (17.53%) of ICU beds, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Rhode Island has the lowest statewide hospital capacity in the nation with 87.97% of its hospital beds in use, though only about 7% are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Massachusetts, which last week recorded its highest count of Covid-19 cases since January, is right behind with 87.63% of its hospital beds in use, and multiple hospitals have reported their ICUs are completely full.

Seventeen other states — many of which have seen a spike in coronavirus cases —  have more than 80% of hospital beds occupied: Pennsylvania (86.86%), West Virginia (85.08%), Michigan (84.95%), Missouri (84.71%), Maryland (84.46%) Washington (83.47%), Georgia (83.24%), New York (82.73%), Minnesota (82.71%), New Hampshire (82.21%), Connecticut (81.42%), North Dakota (81.25%), Nebraska (80.94%), Ohio (80.63%), Oregon (80.60%), Nevada (80.57%) and Arizona (80%).

New Hampshire and New Mexico, which both had a high average rate of Covid-19 cases over the past week, lead the country in the percentage of ICU beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, with 44.34% and 40.36%, respectively.

There are only five states reporting a hospital bed occupancy below 70%: Kansas (67.29%), Utah (66.30%), South Dakota, (65.93%) Mississippi (66.12%) and Wyoming (54%), 

Coronavirus cases are on the rise across the nation, with 149,222 new cases of coronavirus reported on December 3, up from 68,359 cases reported the week before, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention tracker. Many states including New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, which reported over 10,000 new cases on Wednesday, have reported their highest Covid-19 case counts since the previous winter surge. The rise in coronavirus cases is also reflected in the 7-day average of U.S. Covid-19 hospital admissions, which rose 8.8% from the previous week. To combat the potential winter surge of Covid-19 cases, the CDC expanded booster shot eligibility to all adults on November 19, and many states have recommended the shot in preparation for a potential winter surge of coronavirus cases.

The U.S. confirmed its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant on Wednesday in California, less than a week after the World Health Organization announced it identified the new strain. Since then at least ten other states have confirmed omicron cases: New York, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Colorado, Hawaii, Utah, Missouri, Minnesota, Maryland and New Jersey. However, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that delta still remains the dominant strain in the U.S.

2.2 Million In 24 Hours: Covid-19 Vaccinations In U.S. Reach Six-Month High Amid Omicron Variant Spread (Forbes)

U.S. Confirms First Case Of Omicron Variant In California (Forbes)