By Matthew Conlen,  John Keefe,  Albert Sun,  Lauren Leatherby and Charlie Smart Updated May 24, 2021

Because of its rapid spread, the more transmissible Omicron variant has driven a surge in hospitalizations and filled I.C.U.s, even though it is thought to be milder than earlier variants of the coronavirus.

See how the pandemic has affected recent hospital capacity in the map below, which shows data reported by individual hospitals. Health officials have said that the data should not discourage sick people from seeking care.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. A hospital may not appear if it does not report this data to H.H.S., if its data was reported through a parent hospital or if its location information was not available. Percentages above 100 may occur when hospitals report patients beyond their normal limits. Some patient counts are not available because H.H.S. obscures weekly totals fewer than four. Circle size on the national map view corresponds to the hospital’s total I.C.U. capacity.

The agency’s dataset shows detailed geographic information on Covid-19 patients in hospitals. This is something public health officials have long said would be crucial to responding to the epidemic and understanding its impact.

While these numbers provide an important measure of capacity and reflect figures that hospitals have provided to the federal government, experts working with the data said that the situation may have changed since occupancy levels were reported over the seven days leading to last Thursday. Some hospitals have added additional surge capacity that may not be reflected in baseline capacity figures.

The number of usable I.C.U. beds can be limited by the number of nursing staff members available to tend to intensive-care patients, a figure that is not explicitly included in the dataset. “I think the important thing about this current phase of the pandemic is it’s not so much the hospital capacity shortage that’s the issue. It’s really a shortage of personnel and healthcare workers,” said Thomas Tsai, an assistant professor of health policy at Harvard University.

The national average I.C.U. occupancy in 2010 was 67 percent, according to the Society of Critical Care Medicine, though the occupancy baseline changes depending on the place, time of year and size of hospital. The table below shows a sample of state policies and guidelines at different levels of I.C.U. occupancy.

A note from H.H.S. staff accompanying the data release cautioned that the numbers should not discourage sick people from seeking care. “Hospitals have protocols in place to keep patients safe from exposure and to ensure all patients are prioritized for care,” it said.

The data represents seven-day averages for the most recent week with data available. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. Some hospital locations report their data through a parent hospital. The data excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Bed counts are based primarily on staffed beds, but rely on total beds when staffed beds are not reported. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients.

Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hospital capacity data); U.S. Department of Homeland Security (hospital locations); Pinar Karaca-Mandic, Covid-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management

Additional work by Lalena Fisher.

An earlier version of this map gave an incorrect location for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. It is in Philadelphia, not Camden, N.J.

F.A.Q.: What is long Covid? Do I need a booster shot if I’ve had Covid? What do I need to know about vaccinating my toddler? Here are answers to your nagging questions.

At Home: When someone in your house tests positive for Covid, there are some guidelines you should follow — including for when you test negative but develop symptoms.

Covid Treatments in N.Y.C.: Antiviral pills and monoclonal antibodies are available across the city. Find out how to get them.

Immunity and Reinfection: Exposure to the coronavirus — through vaccination or infection — does not mean that you are completely protected from future infections. Here is what to know about Covid immunity and reinfection risks.