Why it matters: The U.S. made it through the spring without realizing one of experts’ worst fears — overwhelming hospitals’ capacity to treat infected people. But that fear is re-emerging as the virus spreads rapidly throughout almost every region of the country.
Where things stand: Arizona remains in the worst shape; 24.4% of all hospital beds in the state are occupied by COVID-19 patients as of July 18, according to an analysis combining data from the COVID Tracking Project and the Harvard Global Health Institute. Texas is second at 19.1%.
Nevada is the next worst, with COVID-19 patients taking up 18.6% of all hospital beds. That’s up significantly from 11.2% at the start of July.
Florida just started tallying current hospitalization data, showing more than 18% of all hospital beds occupied.
