COVID updates: New Zealand imposes restrictions amid omicron outbreak

Nearly 159,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 -- a pandemic high -- according to federal data. 

On average, more than 21,000 Americans with COVID-19 are being admitted to the hospital each day, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Nearly 26,000 Americans with the virus currently require intensive care.

Americans 65 years and older currently account for the largest percentage of COVID-19-related hospitalizations, followed by 18- to 49-year-olds. 

Emergency department visits for COVID-19 patients declined nearly 14% over the last week.

It is largely unclear how many patients were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 versus coincidentally testing positive for the virus after they were admitted for other reasons. Experts say these totals likely vary widely, community by community, and that a COVID-19 diagnosis, regardless of the reason behind the initial admission, can cause additional strain on a health system.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts that most states will be past the omicron peak by mid-February.

"I would imagine as we get into February, into the middle of February, first few weeks of February, it is very likely that most of the states in the country will have turned around with their peak and are starting to come down with regard to cases, and then obviously hospitalizations," Fauci said at a Blue Star Families event.

"Right now, there's no doubt that in New York City and other parts of New York state and in New Jersey, it has already peaked and is rather dramatically on its way down," Fauci said. "We're seeing that also in bigger cities such as Chicago, where as in cities in the South, it has not yet peaked and likely will have more of a slower incline and a slower decline, such as in places like New Orleans and in other cities in Louisiana."

Fauci said he expects data on vaccines for kids under 5 will be delivered to the FDA in the next month.

"They're determining now that for children within that age group, it is likely that it will be a three-dose vaccine. And that being the case, it's going to take a little longer to get those data to the FDA and approved," he explained. "My hope is that it's going to be within the next month or so and not much later than that. But I can't guarantee that because I can't out guess the FDA, I'm gonna have to leave that to them."

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

On average, about 21,000 virus-positive Americans are being admitted to hospitals each day -- a figure that has more than doubled over the last month.

WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, has more patients now than any point in the pandemic, according to nurse Erin Hammond.

"Our emergency rooms are full to overflowing. Our critical care unit has now doubled up rooms. We're taking more patients -- sicker patients -- than we ever have before," Hammond told ABC News.

She noted that she's seen people in their 20s, 30s and 40s "ending up very sick and dying."

"It's incredibly difficult seeing patients die day after day after day," she said. And after a patient dies, the hospital must "refill their beds as quickly as they emptied."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

New Mexico leaders are asking state employees and National Guard members to volunteer as substitute teachers and child care workers due to "extreme staffing shortages" amid the COVID-19 case surge.

"Many schools are being forced to shift to online learning and child care facilities are being forced to temporarily close when staff members test positive," state officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Since the holidays, about 60 school districts and charter schools switched to remote learning and 75 child care centers partially or completely closed due to staffing shortages, according to the state.

"The additional staffing will allow schools to avoid the disruptive process of switching between remote and in-person learning and prevent child care programs from having to shut down," state officials said.

The volunteers would have to complete the requirements necessary to be licensed as a substitute, including a background check and an online workshop.