COVID-19 admissions are flat or increasing in nearly half of U.S. states, as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 4 in 5 infections nationwide, data shows.
The national daily average of new hospital admissions was 28,170 as of Feb. 20, down 7 percent in the past 14 days, according to data cited by The New York Times. Cases were also down 10 percent as of Feb. 20. However, these rates of decrease have slowed in recent weeks, and many states are reporting rising cases and hospitalizations.
Cases are now increasing in twenty-four states and Washington, D.C. — and flat in Alaska — while hospitalizations are up in twenty-one states and flat in three.
The increases come as the highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 now accounts for 80.2 percent of all cases reported nationwide, according to the CDC's latest variant proportion estimates. Though its prevalence has steadily risen since December, the U.S. has not experienced a major winter surge.