The number of people in the United States hospitalized with COVID-19 hit a new record Tuesday, according to government data.
Figures from the Department of Health and Human Services show over 145,980 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Tuesday evening.
#BREAKING: US sets new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations https://t.co/zZNw7R9ujz pic.twitter.com/RS9qUXrNMI
— The Hill (@thehill) January 11, 2022
That figure surpasses the previous record of 142,246 hospitalizations set in January 2021, according to a CNN analysis.
The HHS tracks data from more than 5,400 hospitals across the country.
More than 77.5% of inpatient beds were in use on Tuesday. More than 20.5% of inpatient hospital beds were occupied by 555,883 COVID-19 patients. That number is up from 18.2% of inpatient hospital beds on Sunday.
BREAKING: US Covid-19 hospitalizations hit a record-high, HHS data shows, surpassing the previous peak from January 2021 https://t.co/8hURCALeZ3
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 11, 2022
The rise in hospitalizations is due to the surging and highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus.
The country is also averaging more than 700,000 new cases a day, while almost 700 children age 17 years and younger in the United States are being hospitalized each day due to COVID-19.
The country has averaged 1,646 COVID-19 deaths per day over the past week.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
