The federal government will take the “extraordinary measure” to send a “hospital ship” to New York to deal with the influx of patients expected with the progression of the coronavirus pandemic, the state governor announced on Wednesday from New York.
“President Donald Trump will organize the dispatch of a hospital ship, the US Comfort, which has 1,000 rooms and operating theaters” and will be anchored in New York Harbor, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at the meeting. ‘a press point.
“It’s an extraordinary measure, clearly it’s literally a floating hospital, which will add capacity. The President (Donald Trump) said he would send it immediately, ”he added, without specifying where he was leaving or when the ship would arrive in New York.
New York State is one of the most affected by the epidemic, with more than 2,300 confirmed cases for some 20 million people on Wednesday.
For several days, the governor has been calling for the intervention of the federal government to increase its hospital capacity, currently some 53,000 beds, including 3,000 intensive care beds, according to the governor.
Current projections of the spread of the virus show that there could be a need for 110,000 beds, including 37,000 in intensive care within 45 days, according to the governor.
The Democratic governor, very critical of the White House at the start of the crisis, welcomed his “dialogue” with Donald Trump on this issue.
“We are at war, and we are in the same trench,” said the governor. “I can tell you that he is fully committed to trying to help New York. He is very creative and energetic ”.
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