NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2020) New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday he would be asking US President Donald Trump to use the Comfort Navy hospital ship to treat patients with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
"I am going to call the president this afternoon and ask him to shift the Comfort from non-COVID to COVID," Cuomo said in a press briefing.
The 1,000-bed ship docked in Manhattan a week ago and was initially planned to be used for tackling non-coronavirus cases and, therefore, free up New York City hospital system.
According to Cuomo, if transformed into a COVID-19 facility, the ship, together with the temporary hospital built inside the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan's Hudson Yards, will provide 3,500 beds and relief the entire downstate system.
"That is the only way we sustain this level of intensity in the hospital system," he added.
Meanwhile, the number of COVD-19 cases in New York state has reached 130,689 on Monday, with 16,837 patients requiring hospitalization.
