The USNS Comfort, one of the U.S. Navy's biggest hospital ships in their fleet, arrived in New York City on Monday to help alleviate the stress off of the shore-based hospitals that have been swamped by COVID-19 patients.
President Trump authorized the Comfort, and her sister ship the USNS Mercy, to be sent to hard hit areas on March 18. When Trump said help, in the form of the ships, would be coming very soon during one of the White House's press conference, MSNBC host Rachael Maddow doubted his claim.
"There is no sign that the Navy hospital ships that the president made such a big deal of, the Comfort and the Mercy, there's no sign that they'll be anywhere on-site helping out anywhere in the country for weeks yet," Maddow said during her show on March 20.
March 20 MSNBC's Rachel @maddow:
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 30, 2020
"There is no sign that the Navy hospital ships that the president made such a big deal of, the Comfort and the Mercy, there's no sign that they'll be anywhere on-site helping out anywhere in the country for weeks yet."pic.twitter.com/NkyzUqaEME
The USNS Mercy arrived in the Port of Los Angeles on Friday after setting off from San Diego, California on Monday. The USNS Comfort left Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday as Trump was present to see it off.
Good news: The USNS Mercy has arrived in Los Angeles to serve as a referral hospital for non-coronavirus patients. This will allow shore-based hospitals to focus on treating COVID-19 cases.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) March 27, 2020
Some people are here to show their thanks. pic.twitter.com/1cgBKo0E5i
The USNS Mercy officially accepted its first set of patients on Sunday. Both the Mercy and the Comfort will be taking on patients who need care that is not related to the Wuhan coronavirus. This is so shore-based hospitals can be freed up to focus on treating COVID-19 patients.
