A closer look at COVID-19 hospitalizations in Rhode Island
You might remember late last year when Massachusetts made headlines for its decision to begin tracking COVID-19 hospitalizations based on whether patients were being admitted because of the virus or if they were going to the hospital for a different reason, but happened to test positive.
Well, Rhode Island has been doing the same thing.
Since late January, the state has been tracking the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 based on whether the virus was the primary, a contributing cause, or not a cause at all.
The data are interesting. In early March, 70 percent of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were not being admitted because of the virus. More recently, for 69 percent of COVID-positive patients, the infection was the primary or contributing cause for their hospitalizations. You can read it for yourself here.
Here’s a look at the breakdown since the week of Jan. 22.
June 4
Primary cause: 38
Contributing Cause: 27
Not a Cause: 29
Percent Not a Cause: 30.85 percent
May 28
Primary cause: 32
Contributing Cause: 40
Not a Cause: 41
Percent Not a Cause: 36.28 percent
May 21
Primary cause: 47
Contributing Cause: 31
Not a Cause: 53
Percent Not a Cause: 40.46 percent
May 14
Primary cause: 42
Contributing Cause: 23
Not a Cause: 48
Percent Not a Cause: 42.48 percent
May 7
Primary cause: 25
Contributing Cause: 21
Not a Cause: 41
Percent Not a Cause: 47.13 percent
April 30
Primary cause: 23
Contributing Cause: 24
Not a Cause: 28
Percent Not a Cause: 37.33 percent
April 23
Primary cause: 21
Contributing Cause: 19
Not a Cause: 18
Percent Not a Cause: 31.03 percent
April 16
Primary cause: 16
Contributing Cause: 9
Not a Cause: 24
Percent Not a Cause: 49.98
April 9
Primary cause: 18
Contributing Cause: 8
Not a Cause: 20
Percent Not a Cause: 43.48 percent
April 2
Primary cause: 11
Contributing Cause: 7
Not a Cause: 20
Percent Not a Cause: 52.63 percent
March 26
Primary cause: 14
Contributing Cause: 6
Not a Cause: 27
Percent Not a Cause: 57.45 percent
March 19
Primary cause: 20
Contributing Cause: 9
Not a Cause: 26
Percent Not a Cause: 47.27 percent
March 12
Primary cause: 14
Contributing Cause: 14
Not a Cause: 35
Percent Not a Cause: 55.56 percent
March 5
Primary cause: 15
Contributing Cause: 9
Not a Cause: 56
Percent Not a Cause: 70 percent
Feb. 26
Primary cause: 20
Contributing Cause: 25
Not a Cause: 68
Percent Not a Cause: 60.18 percent
Feb. 19
Primary cause: 41
Contributing Cause: 20
Not a Cause: 83
Percent Not a Cause: 57.64 percent
Feb. 12
Primary cause: 35
Contributing Cause: 21
Not a Cause: 59
Percent Not a Cause: 51.3 percent
Feb. 5
Primary cause: 48
Contributing Cause: 32
Not a Cause: 63
Percent Not a Cause: 44.06 percent
Jan. 29
Primary cause: 67
Contributing Cause: 26
Not a Cause: 62
Percent Not a Cause: 40 percent
Jan. 22
Primary cause: 65
Contributing Cause: 24
Not a Cause: 47
Percent Not a Cause: 34.56 percent
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, data about the coronavirus in the state, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @danmcgowan.
