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

Mike Segar/Reuters

• The US Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, which is docked off the coast of Manhattan, may soon start taking in 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.

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See Also:

• Italy, Spain, and France reported declines in daily coronavirus death tolls. Their governments don't plan to lift national lockdowns and social distancing rules anytime soon.
• Cuomo says it's 'too early to tell' what New York's decline in coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations could mean
• 'In search of the apex and the other side of the mountain': The coronavirus has killed more than 4,100 New Yorkers in just over a month, and the worst is still to come

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