The Navy ship USNS Comfort arrived in New York City, docking on Manhattan's west side Monday morning.
New York City is already facing more than 900 coronavirus-related deaths. The 1,000-hospital bed ship
As of 4:30 PM, there were 38,087 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 914 deaths.
The USNS Comfort will begin its operations on Tuesday. A screening process will be held to determine the patients that can be accommodated up in the massive Navy hospital.
Coronavirus patients will remain in the city’s traditional hospitals. The ship will serve as a relief valve, monitoring the patients hospitals are administering before the virus hit the city.
The ship has 12 operating rooms, radiology suites, ICU beds, a CAT scanner, and a pharmacy. Over 1,100 medical staff, mostly active duty service members, will be serving patients on the ship.
The ship is located at Pier 90 along the West Side Highway.
New York City Bill de Blasio said the city would convert 20,000 traditional hospital beds the city already has into intensive care units to accommodate patients with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo described 1,200 as a “staggering figure.” The borough-by-borough breakdown:
- Queens: 12,756 confirmed cases
- Brooklyn: 10,171
- The Bronx: 6,925
- Manhattan: 6,060
- Staten Island: 2,140
- Unknown: 35
In New York state, there are 9,517 people who have been hospitalized and 2,352 were in intensive care.
"We can do the life-saving work right now," the mayor said, welcoming the USNS Comfort to New York City.
Cuomo emphasized the importance of residents staying home. He reported that the discharge rate of hospitalizations has already become stable.
"First, the public has to be responsible. Stay at home. Mission two — and this is going to be more and more clear as we go on — the frontline battle is in the health care system," Cuomo said.
“As governor of New York, I am asking health care professionals across the country: if you don't have a health acre crisis in your community, we need your help now. We need relief, we need relief for nurses who are working twelve-hour shifts, one after the other after the other,” the governor said.
