Spatial analysis of the origin-destination flow of admissions for severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by COVID-19 in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro.

This study analyzed the inter-municipality flow of hospital admissions due to severe acute respiratory syndrome by COVID-19 in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. We identified 12,676 inter-municipality hospitalizations for COVID-19 involving the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. In total, 11,288 (89.0%) admissions were of residents of the Metropolitan Region (RM), 87% residents in other municipalities of the same region and admitted to hospitals from the state capital, and 13% residents of the capital admitted to hospitals from other municipalities in the RM. There was a negative correlation when it comes to the distance between cities and the origin-destination flow (r=0.62, p<0.001). The RM of the capital Rio de Janeiro imports more admissions for SARS by COVID-19 than it exports. This study highlights the importance of care networks intended for more severe cases that mainly require specialized care.