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The USNS Comfort has arrived at the front lines of the coronavirus fight in the United States.
The Navy hospital ship, which contains 1,000 beds, a dozen operating rooms, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy and more sailed into New York City harbor on Monday after departing from Virginia over the weekend.
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The White House said the 1,200 “doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, x-ray technicians, orderlies, and other medical staff” on board the vessel “will augment and support New York City’s medical community and conserve hospital capacity by treating some non-COVID-19 patients.”
It’s not the first time the USNS Comfort has been in New York City. The Navy said it was deployed there a day after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and spent three weeks aiding first responders at Ground Zero.
“This great ship behind me is a 70,000-ton message of hope and solidarity to the incredible people of New York, a place I know very well, a place I love,” President Trump said in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, prior to the ship’s departure. “We’re here for you. We’re fighting for you and we’re with you all the way and we always will be.”
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On the west coast, Trump has deployed the USNS Mercy hospital ship to Los Angeles, where it is now serving “as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients” who are currently hospitalized on land.
The sister ships were built in the 1970s and originally deployed as oil tankers before being converted to hospital ships in the 1980s and delivered to the Navy.
Fox News’ Marisa Schultz and Frank Miles contributed to this report.
