Trump says the US Navy hospital ship in New York City may soon be used to treat coronavirus patients

The 1,000-bed ship was deployed to New York last month to ease the burden on other healthcare facilities as they treat patients with COVID-19.
But the ship had only filled around 2% of its beds as of last week.
Speaking at a White House press briefing on Sunday, Trump said the ship would be used to treat coronavirus patients if needed.
"That was not supposed to be about the virus at all, under any circumstances," Trump said of the ship. "But it looks like, more and more, we're going to be using it for that."
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President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that the US Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, which is currently docked off the coast of Manhattan, may be used to treat coronavirus patients "if we need it."

The 1,000-bed ship was deployed to New York last month in order to ease the burden on healthcare facilities as they treat patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

But days after the ship's arrival, only 20 patients were being treated, The New York Times reported on Thursday about 2% of the ship's capacity.

The military has looked to remove restrictions on what kind of patients can be treated on the ship so it can be used more, and the Department of Defense announced on Friday that the ship will no longer require a patient to have a negative COVID-19 test to be treated.

USNS Comfort 9 Charlie Ortega Guifarro/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The ship is meant to treat patients with non-coronavirus related health issues and operates under strict guidelines for who can be treated onboard. But Trump appeared to suggest that the strict policies in place may soon change so that the ship can fill its beds.

Speaking at a White House press briefing on Sunday, Trump said the ship would be used to treat coronavirus patients if needed.

"That was not supposed to be about the virus at all, under any circumstances," Trump said of the ship, CNN reported . "But it looks like, more and more, we're going to be using it for that."

New York City has become the epicenter of the coronavirus spread, with over 123,000 confirmed cases as of Sunday night. The state has also logged over 4,150 deaths.

New York City hospitals have reported shortages of personal protective gear, masks, and ventilators , with one doctor calling the overwhelming spread of the virus "apocalyptic."

Hospitals have also reported being filled with coronavirus patients and morgues are overflowing with those who have died from the disease.

andrew cuomo Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that New York's "spatial closeness makes us vulnerable" to the spread of the disease.

Several major New York landmarks, including Central Park, the Javits Convention Center, and the National Tennis Center, have been transformed to accommodate field hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients.

On Sunday, Trump announced additional relief for New York hospitals, including a shipment of 600,000 N95 masks to New York City and 200,000 N95 masks to Suffolk County on Monday.

The death toll in the city is beginning to decline, though Cuomo said on Sunday that "it's too early to tell" what the significance of those numbers means.

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