The surge of Omicron cases striking much of America has left many hospitals nationwide without the staff necessary to treat patients.
According to a report by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), of 4,294 hospitals in overseas, 975, or 22.7 percent, do not have enough nurses and doctors to meet current patient volume, Fox News reports.
The agency also reports that 79 percent of inpatient beds nationwide are currently occupied, with 21 percent of best being used by Covid patients.
While those figures are not quite crisis level, it means that many facilities do not have the necessary staff to deal with virus surges because of how hard the virus is hitting its staff.
Fearing these kinds of circumstances, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated guidance late last year to allow Covid positive health care workers to return to work more quickly.
Around 23% of U.S. hospitals are currently facing critical staffing shortages as many doctors and nurses are out due to Covid infection. Last month, the CDC revised its guidelines to allow health care professionals in facilities facing shortages to more quickly return to work. Pictured: A man receives treatment for Covid symptoms in a Rexburg, Idaho, hospital on October 28
Currently, a record 140,000 Americans receiving treatment in hospitals every day have Covid, though the figure is inflated by some people who show up for treatment for another condition and test positive while there.
Some U.S. governors have taken action to relieve pressure on their hospitals as the surge in patients continues.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has activated 445 members of the national guard to assist hospitals and food banks in the state, referring to the current Covid situation as a 'war'.
'But I cannot think of a higher calling right now in what is a war and the deadliest war in our lifetime of ensuring that we can increase hospital capacity by using the guard,' he said at a new conference Tuesday.
Massachusetts has also activated 500 members of the national
