New Jersey Gov. Phill Murphy got the green light from President Trump on Monday to utilize beds aboard the USNS Comfort for patients with coronavirus.
“I just got off the phone with @realDonaldTrump– he granted our request for access to some of the beds on the USNS Comfort,” Murphy said on Twitter. “This is a big step for us. I thank both the President and @VP.”
The Navy hospital ship docked in the New York harbor has 1,000 available beds and was originally intended to relieve the burden to overflowing medical centers in the city hit hardest by the coronavirus.
Now, patients from New Jersey — which has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country — will also be able to get treatment onboard the ship.
New York has 130,689 cases of coronavirus while New Jersey has 41,090 cases.
The Comfort is equipped with a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, digital radiology, a CT scan, two oxygen-producing plants and a helicopter deck.
