The non-profit Care New England health network opened the Kent Field Hospital on November 30, just before Rhode Island’s infection rate became the highest in the world, reports AP.

Kent Hospital was using all its beds for its sickest Covid-19 patients, and needed somewhere for the overflow. Now, other hospitals also occasionally send patients to the field hospital.

Only stable, non-intubated Covid-19 patients are transferred a few miles to the field hospital, and only if they consent. Some refuse. The idea of a field hospital can conjure up images of giant tents in a war zone, canvas sides flapping in the wind.

Covid-19 patient Art Singleton, 56, rear, watches as fellow patient Nicholas DiPompo, 78, is wheeled to the exit by registered nurses, Doris McClellan, left, and Ashley Nowlin, right, for discharge from a field hospital in Cranston, R.I, on January 6, 2021. — AP
Covid-19 patient Art Singleton, 56, rear, watches as fellow patient Nicholas DiPompo, 78, is wheeled to the exit by registered nurses, Doris McClellan, left, and Ashley Nowlin, right, for discharge from a field hospital in Cranston, R.I, on January 6, 2021. — AP

Covid-19 patient Linda Cotrone, 72, of Warwick, R.I., is offered a slice of pizza by certified nephrology nurse Scarlett Santana, after a fellow patient bought pizza for the staff on December 14, 2020. — AP
Covid-19 patient Linda Cotrone, 72, of Warwick, R.I., is offered a slice of pizza by certified nephrology nurse Scarlett Santana, after a fellow patient bought pizza for the staff on December 14, 2020. — AP

Covid-19 patients watch television in a common area of the field hospital. — AP
Covid-19 patients watch television in a common area of the field hospital. — AP

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...