Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Arrives In New York To Ease Coronavirus Pressure

The USNS Comfort, one of the Navy's hospital ships that has often been called on to deliver humanitarian aid, has arrived in New York City to help ease the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ship entered New York Harbor on Monday morning, passing the Statue of Liberty on its way to Pier 88 in Manhattan.

The ship will be used to treat patients who do not have the disease caused by the coronavirus but who urgently need other care. Those patients could otherwise face long delays as the city's health infrastructure struggles to cope with an outbreak that has killed more than 775 people and infected more than 60,000 in New York state.

The hospital ship had previously been deployed to New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.