A 1,000-bed U.S. Navy hospital ship being rushed back into service to provide medical help to New York City, now the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, has arrived in New York Harbor.

 

The USNS Comfort headed through the Atlantic Ocean this morning and docked at Pier 90 in Manhattan, right across the harbor from Weehawken.

The news comes just a week after its sister ship, the USNS Mercy, arrived in Los Angeles to perform a similar duty on the West Coast.

 

President Donald Trump was on hand for the ship’s departure ceremony over the weekend from Virginia.

The 70,000-ton hospital on water will not be for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 though, but will instead handle trauma cases and other emergencies, allowing hospitals to devote more resources to coronavirus patients.

The ship has 12 operating rooms, a blood bank, medical lab, pharmacy, radiology suites and a CT scanner. The ship also has 1,200 members of the U.S. Navy, 15 patient wards, 80 ICU beds and 10 elevators. This makes the ship and its West Coast twin, the USNS Mercy, the fourth largest hospitals in the country.

 

The last time the ship was in New York City was 2001 to help in the aftermath of 9/11.

"This is worse", says Donna Ruthann Dimuro, whose nephew is on board the USNS Comfort. "I feel this is worse because it's coming from everywhere, and 9/11 was a nightmare, but this is more scary. It just never ends. It's never ending."

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio is thankful for the much-needed relief.

"This will right away be making a difference in this city and we are so, so grateful to the navy, to the military that this new help will be arriving in our city," says Mayor De Blasio.

President Trump has called the ship "a 70,000-ton message of hope and solidarity."

The ship is set to begin treating patients as early as Tuesday.

AP wire services helped contribute to this report.