Indiana COVID-19 hospitalizations hit new peak amid omicron

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana hospitals are reporting a record number of COVID-19 patients as the highly contagious omicron variant continues driving a statewide surge, the state's latest coronavirus update shows.

Indiana's COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 3,467 on Monday, eclipsing the previous pandemic peak of 3,460 the state set on Nov. 30, 2020, according to an update posted Tuesday on the state health department's coronavirus dashboard.

COVID-19 patients occupied 38.4% of Indiana's intensive care unit beds Monday and the state had only 10.6% of its ICU beds available overall.

Indiana also reported 11,932 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the omicron variant continued spreading.

Brian Tabor, president of the Indiana Hospital Association, said the surge in COVID-19 patients, combined with non-COVID-19 patients who delayed treatment earlier in the pandemic but are now seeking care, has created a 'œcrisis" for Indiana's hospitals.

'œIndiana hospitals are overwhelmed with the highest number of patients on record and have reached a state of crisis with dwindling capacity left to care for patients,'ť he said Tuesday in a statement.

Tabor said Indiana's emergency departments are seeing between 8,500 and 10,000 visits per day, and at any given time several hundred patients are waiting in ERs for hospital beds to open up.

With hospital patient volumes expected to climb for the next couple of weeks, he urged Hoosiers to seek COVID-19 tests not at hospital emergency rooms but at primary care sites including physician offices and urgent care centers.