The national test-positivity rate hit 10.2% in the past week, according to an internal Health and Human Services memo obtained by ABC News Friday night.
That was up from 8% in week-to-week comparisons.
Fifty-one states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, while two jurisdictions are at a plateau and two are going down, the memo said.
The number of new cases confirmed from Nov. 6 to 12 increased 41.1% from the previous seven-day period, while deaths increased 29% during that same time frame, HHS found.
Across the country, 28% of hospitals have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled. That number was 17% to 18% during the summertime peak.
Hospitals in North Dakota are especially strained, as some have suspended elective surgeries as they report reaching or nearing 100% capacity.
Utah health care leaders have reported that many of the 16 referral hospitals in the state that have the capability to treat severely ill patients are full or nearly full, according to the memo.
In South Dakota, the seven-day COVID-19 hospitalization rate continued to rise steeply, reaching a high of 62.6 per 100,000 population on Nov. 10, HHS said.
