Several states are close to running out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds as COVID-19 cases increase across the nation.
According to new data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 17 states currently have 80 percent or more ICU beds in use, as of Monday.
The data shows that New Mexico currently has the highest percentage of ICU beds in use with 90 percent. Following behind are Rhode Island and Kentucky, with 88 percent of ICU beds in use in both states.
Several other states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska and Washington are all nearing the 80 percent ICU bed capacity mark, the data showed.
Among ICU beds in use for COVID-19 patients, New Mexico has the highest percentage with 42.58 percent. Other states including Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Michigan, North Dakota and Minnesota all have over 30 percent of ICU beds in use for COVID-19 patients, according to the HHS data.
The data also shows the percentage of total inpatient hospital beds in use in each state. According to the data, at least 23 states have over 75 percent of hospital beds in use for all patients.
The newly released data from HHS comes as COVID-19 cases have increased across the U.S. ahead of the upcoming holidays.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of Sunday, the U.S. was averaging 91,021 new COVID-19 cases per day. In comparison, on October 25, the U.S. was averaging 67,587 new cases per day. The country has also seen an increase in COVID-19 deaths when compared to the summer. CDC data shows that the U.S. is averaging around 900 new COVID-19 deaths over the past week, while this number was below 500 throughout June and July.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, recently warned of the increase in COVID-19 cases, specifically as the weather gets colder.
"We have a lot of virus circulating around. You can't walk away from the data, and the data show that the cases are starting to go up, which is not unexpected when you get into a winter season. People start to go indoors more and we know that immunity does wane over time," Fauci said while appearing on CNN's State of the Union.
Fauci then went on to stress the importance of getting vaccinated, saying "The bottom line is get vaccinated if you're not vaccinated, and boostered if you have been vaccinated. Since we can vaccinate children from five to 11, you start vaccinating them now [and] they will be fully vaccinated by the time we get to the Christmas holidays."
Newsweek reached out to the CDC for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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