New York gets ‘Comfort’ as infections climb
Hospital ship sent amid bed shortage
NEW YORK CITY: A military hospital ship arrived in New York on Monday as America’s coronavirus epicentre gears up for the peak of the pandemic, with emergency restrictions extended as the national death toll passed 3,000.
The navy’s 1,000-bed USNS Comfort docked at a Manhattan pier as more US states enforced stay-at-home orders after President Donald Trump abandoned his Easter target for life returning to normal in the United States.
The 894 foot-long (272-metre) vessel — which also has space for a dozen operating rooms — was greeted by cheering crowds after departing Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday.
Its arrival came as Virginia, Maryland and the capital Washington became the latest areas to restrict citizens’ movements, meaning almost three-quarters of Americans are now living, or about to live, under various phases of lockdown.
On Sunday, Mr Trump cancelled his plans to re-open much of the United States by Easter — April 12 — and extended social distancing guidelines until the end of April after his top scientists confronted him with data on the rising coronavirus deaths.
He said America’s death rate was likely to increase for two weeks, describing as “horrible” a prediction by senior scientist Anthony Fauci that Covid-19 could claim up to 200,000 lives.
Worst-affected New York is ramping up hospital capacity and taking delivery of desperately needed medical supplies as it races against time.
The Comfort will care for New Yorkers requiring intensive care unrelated to the coronavirus, easing the burden on a hospital network overwhelmed by an influx of Covid-19 patients.
The virus has claimed more than 3,000 lives in the country, including more than 1,200 in New York state. Some 790 deaths have occurred in New York City.
New York opened a temporary emergency hospital in the Javits convention centre with 2,900 beds on Monday. A field hospital in Central Park was due to open yesterday.
Four other sites have also been approved to house patients discharged from hospitals to make way for residents suffering from the novel coronavirus.
Flights run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency began arriving at New York’s JFK Airport yesterday as Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city needed 400 more ventilators by the end of the week.
Dr Fauci, who leads research into infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said on Sunday that between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans could die from “millions of cases”.