Covid-19 hospitalizations top 100,000 as delta variant surges

Covid-19 hospitalizations are on the rise again across the United States as more people become sickened with the highly contagious delta variant of the virus.

More than 100,000 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data released Friday morning by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That means 1 in every 6 hospital beds nationwide has a Covid patient, according to NBC News data.

New admissions of patients with confirmed Covid-19 cases are at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic for all age groups under 50 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Nebraska, where 2,316 people have died of the virus and about 51 percent of the population is vaccinated, Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, declared a hospital staffing emergency Thursday and said he would issue an executive order waiving licensing requirements to streamline credential authorizations for retired or inactive health care workers.