The USNS Comfort hospital ship, which has 1,000 beds on board, is sailing to New York harbour to help the state treat Covid-19 patients.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced the news at his daily press conference on Wednesday, saying it would go some way to addressing the lack of hospital beds available for coronavirus cases.

“It’s literally a floating hospital,” Mr Cuomo said, calling it an "extraordinary step".

Besides the 1,000 hospital beds, the ship also includes 12 fully-equipped operating rooms, a pharmacy, medical laboratory, and helicopter decks for transport.

The move comes as many cities and states across the US have raised concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on healthcare facilities. Mr Cuomo said New York anticipates it will need another 50,000 hospital beds in order to properly treat those who will become infected.

The governor is also working with the federal government to create mobile hospitals across the state, he said. The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to build field hospitals in select locations.



New York state currently has 53,000 hospital beds and 3,000 ICU beds. The number of coronavirus cases in New York is anticipated to peak in 45 days, at which point an estimated 55,000 to 110,000 patients could be hospitalised and 18,600 to 37,200 could need an ICU bed in the state alone, according to experts.

There is also an issue with the number of ventilators currently available across the state. New York has 3,000 ventilators at the moment, but it will require an estimated 37,000 to meet demand.