USNS Comfort docks in NYC to aid overcrowded hospitals due to COVID-19

A navy ship sent by the federal government will soon become New York City’s latest hospital.

News 12 Staff

Mar 30, 2020, 4:35 PM

Updated 1,486 days ago

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A navy ship sent by the federal government will soon become New York City’s latest hospital.
Its staff won’t be treating those with coronavirus, but will still be working to stop the spread.
The USNS Comfort, now docked at Pier 90, set sail from Virginia Saturday on a mission to help combat coronavirus.
President Donald Trump called it a “70,000-ton message of hope and solidarity.”
Chopper 12 flew overhead as the naval hospital ship made the final stretch of its journey up the Atlantic Ocean through the Hudson River. It will house 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms and a variety of medical equipment to treat patients who don’t have COVID-19. It’s an effort from the federal government to relieve the burden on hospitals around the city, as well as reduce the potential for the virus to spread.
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The president says there will be 1,200 members of the U.S. Navy, including doctors, nurses and medical staff.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the president to do more to help New Yorkers during this pandemic on Monday.
“The toughest weeks are ahead, we are bracing ourselves for something we’ve never seen before in our lives,” says Mayor de Blasio.
The USNS Comfort is expected to start accepting patients Tuesday.
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