Cuomo: ‘What you are seeing in New York is going to spread across this country’ 

The USNS Comfort arrived in New York Monday morning with 1,200 medical personnel and 1,000 hospital beds to treat non-coronavirus patients. N95 masks and PPE will be available for all individuals on board.

This is the first time the Navy hospital ship has come to the New York City harbor on a mission since the days after 9/11 when the ship fed, treated and helped volunteer workers and first responders at Ground Zero. It remained there for three weeks. 

The USNS Comfort is a sister ship to USNS Mercy, which is docked on the west coast of Los Angeles and is also being used to treat non-coronavirus patients. The shops were originally built in the 1970s and were used as oil tankers.

In a statement on Monday, Governor Cuomo warned that what’s happening in New York is a forewarning of what’s to come across the United States.

“Yes, we are more dense. Yes, we are bigger than most places, but, this virus spreads among Americans,” he said. “This virus does not discriminate. It does not discriminate by age, it does not discriminate by party, it infects all Americans. And what you are seeing in New York is going to spread across this country.”

In a news conference on Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reported that even with the assistance of the navy hospital ship, more still needs to be done. 

“We need to triple our hospital bed capacity in New York City by May,” said de Blasio. 

Trump has predicted the peak of the virus will occur in the next two weeks, and extended his ‘15 day’ guidelines through April 30.

“Around Easter, that’s going to be the highest point, we think,” he said in a daily press briefing Sunday evening.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Cuomo / Twitter