NEW YORK—After a courageous mission to the U.S. virus epicenter, the USNS Comfort says farewell. Her service as an overflow hospital is done in New York City, and the hospital ship has returned to her home port of Naval Station Norfolk on Friday. There, the Comfort is gearing up for future CCP virus operations.
Only 19 people with virus symptoms were sent to New York City hospitals on Tuesday—a reduction of 99 percent from the peak. That has allowed the USNS Comfort to set sail for its home port in Nolfolk, Va. on April 30.
Hospitalizations have leveled off in New York state, and U.S. Northcom Commander General Terrence O’Shaughnessy sees the Comfort’s departure as encouragement the situation has changed. However, he says we’re still not done.
“Right now, as I sit here talking to you today, there are 682 doctors, nurses or men that are in New York City hospitals that are U.S. military members that are providing that service exactly where it’s needed,” he said.
As of Thursday, New York state has had over 310,000 cases and nearly 24,000 deaths from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Yet the floating hospital didn’t come close to its capacity while docked in Manhattan. The city Health Commissioner, Deanne Criswell, said she would review whether the Comfort was necessary for the city’s CCP virus response.
“We didn’t know where we were going to go with the amount of patients that were going to need to be seen at the hospitals and the level of severity,” she said. “And I think it’s really important to talk about how we were able to work through as we were learning what type of patients we needed to treat and adjust on the fly.”
The total cost of the Comfort’s operation in New York City has not yet been calculated. The portable hospital is being disinfected and will return to a “Ready 5” status for future deployments providing relief from the virus in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
According to the ship’s press officer Lieutenant Commander Amelia Umayam, medical professionals aboard the ship worked with local medical providers to discharge patients safely back to their homes or a hospital for the appropriate level of follow-on care.
“Each patient that was brought aboard USNS Comfort for treatment allowed one more bed to be available in a local hospital. We are proud and humbled to have assisted New York and New Jersey in this capacity,” Umayam told NTD in an email.
During the ship’s departure, tugboats pulled the 70,000-ton hero out into the Hudson River, then pushed her bow due south. Police boats, fireboats, and the Army Corps of Engineers escorted her out of the harbor.
A crowd of New Yorkers came to see her off, and some shared their thoughts on the Comfort.
“I saw it come in. It was really kind of emotional and lovely. And I’m especially happy that it was able to leave so soon,” said Deborah who works for the census bureau.
“What it really makes me feel is that we’re all in this situation together,” David Senor, a NYC Tour Guide said. “When you see how the Comfort came, it was here to support us. They didn’t need to take care of as many people as we thought but they still were here.”
A U.S. Navy veteran called “Lifeboat” Louie said, “That ain’t no rowboat there, but that’s a gallant ship because she came here to help us.”
Of the 182 patients treated on the comfort this time in New York City, 70 percent were CCP virus positive.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Follow Kevin on Twitter
