California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned President Trump that the state is projecting 56% of its population will contract the coronavirus in the next eight weeks.
Newsom made the prediction in a Thursday letter to the president asking him for the U.S. Navy’s Mercy hospital ship to be stationed outside Los Angeles to help unburden the health situation there.
“We project that roughly 56% of our state’s population — 25.5 million people — will be infected with the virus over an eight-week period,” he said.
He said placing the Mercy hospital ship at the port of Los Angeles would “help decompress the healthcare system to allow the Los Angeles region to ensure that it has the ability to address critical acute care needs.”
Defense officials told CNN that the vessel is heading to Seattle, which is one of the areas most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, for the next week or so. From there, the destination could change depending on need.
As of Thursday evening, more than 950 people in California have tested positive for the virus, and 18 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., more than 13,150 people have tested positive for the virus, 108 have recovered, and 176 have died.
