U.S. Navy Hospital Ships to Deploy to New York, West Coast

The Trump administration will send two U.S. Navy hospital ships to New York and the West Coast to alleviate medical facilities in both regions, which are overwhelmed by coronavirus cases. 

The USNS Comfort will head to New York Harbor, near New York City, and the USNS Mercy will deploy to coastal regions on the Pacific, according to NPR. 

The ships’ medical staffers will not treat coronavirus patients, but will be available to treat other patients to help land-based hospitals keep up with the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the presence of a Navy ship will offer relief to medical facilities in New York state, which is likely to need 50,000 hospital beds and 30,000 new ventilators during the height of the pandemic.