Alabama ICU beds 82 percent full as coronavirus cases soar

Alabama, which has been hit hard by the recent surge of coronavirus cases, is running out of available intensive care unit beds.

Hospitals in the more densely populated areas of Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham have begun to transfer critical care patients from hospital to hospital because of the shortage of beds, according to a Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News.

Don Williamson, a doctor with the Alabama Hospital Associations, told ABC affiliate WBMA that 82 percent of the state’s ICU beds were taken, with only 289 beds left across the state.

On Tuesday, Alabama broke its record of daily new COVID-19 cases with 1,100. Overall, the state has nearly 32,800 confirmed cases of the disease.

More than a dozen states have broken their record for daily new cases in the past week, including Missouri, Florida, Texas, California, Oklahoma, Georgia and Nevada.

As a result, the U.S. on Thursday broke its record for most new coronavirus cases reported in a day with 40,401 new cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.