Six states in the Midwest and East Coast account for more than half of the nation's total COVID-19 hospitalizations confirmed in recent weeks, NBC News reported Dec. 7.
Federal data shows 35 states and the District of Columbia have seen hospitalization rates increase in the last two weeks.
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois are mostly driving this increase. These states make up 35 percent of the population among states with increasing hospitalizations, but comprise 60 percent of new hospital beds filled between Nov. 10 and Dec. 5, according to an NBC News analysis of HHS data. Michigan topped the list, accounting for 13.2 percent of new hospitalizations over this time period.
As of Dec. 5, the nation's seven-day hospitalization average was 7,176, a 14.6 percent increase from the previous week's average of 6,260, CDC data shows.