US COVID-19 hospitalizations soared to a new record yesterday as states closely track intensive care unit (ICU) capacity and staffing and take more steps to bolster capacity in anticipation of a post-Thanksgiving spike in cases.No end in sight for hospitalization riseThough it's difficult to interpret COVID-19 trends soon after a holiday based on daily new case numbers, hospitalization levels are a steadier metric for monitoring the impact of the virus.
As of yesterday, the number of Americans currently hospitalized for COVID-19 reached 96,039, up from 93,219 the day before, according to the COVID Tracking Project.In California, hospital ICUs could be overwhelmed by Christmas, NPR reported.