Trump Says Hospital Ships Are Headed to Help Combat Coronavirus. It Could Be Awhile

President Donald Trump announced that help from the U.S. military was on its way Wednesday when he directed the Navy to dispatch two hospital ships to the East and West coasts to deal with the spreading coronavirus pandemic. “They are massive ships. The big white ships with the red cross on the side. One is called Mercy and the other is called Comfort. They are in tip-top shape,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Those two ships are being prepared to go and they can be launched over the next week or so, depending on need.” However, neither of the 1,000-patient ships are ready to go anywhere. Both are currently in-port undergoing maintenance work and lack medical crews. It will likely take weeks, before both ships set off to their destinations. And even when the floating hospitals do arrive at their berths, they will not be taking on COVID-19 patients. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter by clicking on this link, and please send any tips, leads, and stories to virus@time.com. The USNS Comfort, which is being worked on in Norfolk, Va., is not expected to arrive in New York Harbor until sometime next month. The USNS Mercy, which is in San Diego, Calif., can be prepared sooner but it takes several days to bring aboard staff and medical equipment — and its final destination has yet to be identified. “When it is prepared to sail, we will make a determination on where it is going to go,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hof...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news