CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Responses to the COVID-19 surge vary greatly across the United States. While some communities are seeing a record number of cases and hospitalizations, others are not seeing the same type of spike. 

Right now, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and New Jersey are reporting the highest case numbers in the country. States with a comparable fraction of the population, such as Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, are reporting their lowest amount of COVID-19 cases. 

For now, it doesn’t appear tough COVID-19 restrictions directly correlate to lower case numbers. For example, in New Jersey, where cases are spiking, the city of Hoboken was one of the first cities to put any restrictions into place when the pandemic started. It’s now among a handful of cities in the state putting tough restrictions back into place, including mask mandates for public spaces.

Some states are also requiring vaccine cards for public events. In Illinois, an area seeing high case numbers, the city of Chicago is now requiring COVID-19 vaccination proof for indoor venues. It comes as the state’s largest health care system is reaching a tipping point. It’s right now treating an all-time high of nearly 1,500 COVID-19 patients throughout its 26 hospitals. 

Mary Beth Kingston, the chief nursing officer of Advocate Aurora Health, says hospitalizations have reached a pandemic high.

Of people being treated for COVID-19, “92% of our inpatients are either unvaccinated, have only received the first dose of the vaccine, or are due for a booster,” she said. 

Meanwhile in Florida, a state with no restrictions, hospitalization numbers are also surging. The state has seen more than 60,000 new infections over the past few days. However, the processes for reporting cases and hospitalizations are so different state by state, it’s almost impossible to make an exact side-by-side comparison.