A pair of U.S. Navy hospital ships will be deployed to New York and the West Coast, where medical workers are anxiously expecting a major influx of patients as the coronavirus spreads.
President Trump announced the plans for deployment during a news conference Wednesday, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed that he expects one of those ships — the USNS Comfort — to take up a position in New York Harbor, adjacent to New York City.
The USNS Mercy, meanwhile, is based on the West Coast and is expected to deploy to coastal regions on that side of the United States.
The Comfort “has about 1,000 rooms on it. It has operating rooms,” Cuomo told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
He said the ship’s presence will help take pressure off facilities and staff in New York state, which is expecting to need more than 50,000 new hospital beds and more than 30,000 new ventilators as the coronavirus spreads. New York has reported more than 2,300 confirmed cases across the state and expects that number to spike significantly in the coming days.
RandyMarsh