President Trump announced Wednesday that he is sending hospital ships to cities hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump said he spoke with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the decision.
“We’re sending, upon request, the two hospital ships,” Trump said. “One is called The Mercy, and the other is called The Comfort.”
The Comfort, a Navy ship, will bring about 1,000 hospital beds to New York. It has previously been deployed to natural disaster zones, including to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“It has operating rooms,” Cuomo said Wednesday, adding that the ship was being deployed “immediately.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether The Mercy would also be dispatched to New York.
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The U.S. Navy said the ships would not be used to treat coronavirus patients but would be used to treat other patients as hospitals fill with those affected by the coronavirus.
“Both ships are currently working to complete scheduled maintenance and identify necessary medical staffing to deploy as soon as possible,” the Navy said in a statement Wednesday. “The Comfort and Mercy will not deploy to treat COVID patients, but will be made available to assist with treatment of other patients.”
Nearly 2,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in New York, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 16 deaths in the state.
