Cranston Field Hospital May Reopen For Delta Variant Surge

CRANSTON, RI — State officials are preparing to potentially reopen the field hospital at Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston, said Tom McCarthy, the state's COVID-19 response czar, in a news conference Thursday.

The Cranston field hospital, as well as one at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, closed in February. But McCarthy said reopening the field hospital may be necessary, depending on how large a predicted delta variant surge is this fall.

"We're not at a point where we need to utilize this site yet, but it's an enormously complex operation to get an alternative hospital site up and running," McCarthy said. "We want to make sure, like we have throughout the response, we're doing everything we can to be prepared for any eventuality."

COVID-19-related hospitalizations in the state are still less than a fifth what they were at their peak in December, but they have increased rapidly over the last month. On July 17, there were 22 hospitalized patients, compared to 95, as of Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health.