President Trump championed “the message of hope” that a Navy hospital ship will bring to the people of New York before it departed from Virginia.
At the send-off in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday, Trump said the United States is “at war with an invisible enemy” and touted the USNS Comfort’s ability to provide medical relief for New York City, which has been grappling with a growing coronavirus outbreak that has sickened thousands.
“Today, I’m here to express my profound gratitude to the dedicated service members who will soon be on the front lines of this fight,” the president said. “This great ship behind me is a 70,000-ton message of hope and solidarity to the incredible people of New York … We are here for you, we are fighting for you, and we are with you all the way.”
Standing next to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Trump touted the speed at which the ship was able to get ready and said the departure was three weeks ahead of schedule. He also pointed out that the first patients will be treated on the Comfort on Tuesday and will be those who need medical treatment not related to coronavirus, as the hospitals in New York focus on combating the pandemic.
“The skilled sailors and civilian mariners aboard this ship will provide a critical surge capacity for the New York metropolitan area. Their mission will be to care for New Yorkers who do not have the virus but who require urgent care,” the president explained.
“It’s stocked to the brim with equipment and medicines and everything that you can think of,” Trump said. “It is fully loaded with 12 operating rooms, and they are fully equipped: 1,000 hospital beds, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, digital radiology, a CAT scan, two oxygen-producing plants, and a helicopter deck.”
The ship is expected to arrive at Pier 90 in Manhattan on Monday. New York City has been one of the hardest-hit places in the country, with almost 30,000 COVID-19 infections and more than 500 deaths, according to the latest reading by the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Trump also said Saturday he is thinking about enforcing a quarantine for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, although New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he “doesn’t even know what that means.”
