
A top New York heath executive has slammed the 'ridiculous' red-tape on the USNS Comfort as it accepts just 20 patients in the four days since it docked in New York City on Monday.

The Navy hospital ship was dispatched by President Donald Trump as a beacon of hope to the struggling city as the coronavirus outbreak in the Big Apple reached 51,809 cases and 1,562 deaths as of 5pm Thursday.

There are now 245,356 U.S. cases and 6,056 deaths across the country. On Wednesday, it became the first country in the world to hit 1,000 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours.

Yet with ambulances forced to bring patients to a hospital for a coronavirus test first, a long list of medical conditions that the Navy won't treat on board, and a host of other bureaucratic hurdles causing many delays, the ship's beds lie empty and its staff idle.

Michael Dowling, the head of Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system, has called the Navy's restrictions a 'joke' as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo argued the ship should begin to accept coronavirus patients.





Mayor Bill de Blasio has said Sunday, April 5, will be 'D-Day' for the city and is when the hospitals will run out of supplies and staffing





The USNS Comfort has accepted just 20 patients since it docked in Manhattan four days ago despite promising relief to the coronavirus crisis in New York City

On Friday, de Blasio told CNN he believes the Navy will agree to start letting COVID patients come on board.

'There's no question in my mind that's going to get resolved very quickly, you're going to see that number grow.

'Having the Comfort here is a very important thing here in NYC. I don't have a doubt in my mind the Comfort is going to be filled up soon and the Javits is going to be filled up soon. That's the easy part.

'The hard part is the hospitals dealing with a massive surge in the coming days. We need more doctors and nurses.

THE RED TAPE KEEPING COVID PATIENTS FROM THE COMFORT Non Covid patients only From the outset, the plan was for the USNS Comfort to only take patients who did not have the virus and alleviate some of the pressure on the hospital system. A specific reason for that decision was never given but it was likely to avoid infecting the Navy or putting the physical ship in a position where it might have to be taken out of commission and disinfected Ambulances can't take anyone directly there Patients are not allowed to go directly to the USNS Comfort. First, an ambulance takes them to a city hospital. Then, they are tested for the virus and evaluated. They are then transported if they test negative. Ship may need to be reconfigured for COVID-19 patients A military doctor told The New York Times that the ship is fitted with narrow cot beds that are suitable for young, otherwise healthy soldiers with battlefield wounds, but may not be for older patients. The vast majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations are among people over the age of 65. Advertisement

'If we have the equipment, lives are going to be saved. If we don't' people are going to die who still do not need to die,' he said.

The Javits Center is a 2,900-bed facility that was constructed by the National Guard and by the US Army Corps of Engineers in just five days last week.

It too said it would only take non-coronavirus patients initially, but Gov. Cuomo convinced President Trump to change that policy this week. It is now accepting COVID-19 patients.

That is yet to happen with the Comfort. Michael Dowling, the CEO of Northwell Health - NY's largest hospital system - said it was a 'joke'. '

'If I'm blunt about it, it's a joke.

'Everyone can say, "Thank you for putting up these wonderful places and opening up these cavernous halls".

'But we're in a crisis here, we're in a battlefield,' he told The New York Times.

The need for medical personnel in New York City is so severe that Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday pushed President Donald Trump to begin a national enlistment that would send people with medical training from other states to the front line of the epicenter.

Despite the drastic need, there are currently some 1,200 crew aboard the USNS Comfort who are idle, with a lack of patients due to the strict protocols in place that has seen them refusing to take certain medical conditions.

In Los Angeles, the USNS Mercy has also only accepted 15 patients.

New Yorkers came out in their droves on Monday as the gigantic white vessel pulled in to dock in Manhattan, ignoring social distancing guidelines as they gathered to see in the hospital ship that was supposed to lessen to crippling burden on the city's hospital system.

After four days, the hospital ship has done little to ease the stress, with delays and time-wasting protocols frustrating hospital chiefs.

As well as refusing to accept coronavirus patients, the Navy has sent hospitals a list of 49 other medical conditions that they will not treat on board leaving few remaining patients available to transfer from over-stretched hospitals to the ship.

Even protocol around the transfer of patients who are suitable has caused further delays as none can be brought directly to the Comfort without a visit to a hospital first.

Scores of New Yorkers flocked to the streets to welcome the Comfort on Monday. NY Gov Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio said it not only brought needed supplies but was a much needed morale booster for the city

Andrew Cuomo, left, gestures during a brief news conference as he stands beside a Rear Adm. John B. Mustin as the USNS Comfort, a naval hospital ship with a 1,000 bed-capacity, pulls into Pier 90 in New York Monday. The ship has been criticized for only accepting 20 patients

Ambulances are forced to bring patients to the hospital for a lengthy evaluation, which includes a coronavirus test, and them pick them up once this is finished to bring them to the ship.

Speaking on MSNBC on Thursday evening, Gov. Cuomo criticized the inability of the ship to take coronavirus patients, stating that new protocols must be found to alleviate the numbers of patients being sent to other hospitals.

Cuomo said that the Navy was refusing to accept coronavirus patients because of rules in place surrounding the disinfection of the ship.

He argued, however, that with many New Yorkers remaining inside their homes under the shelter in place order and many surgeries placed on hold, the number of hospital patients that did not have coronavirus was not great enough that the ship could continue with its refusal.

'What has happened is the COVID patients have overwhelmed the hospitals, Cuomo admitted.

'Hospitals have now just basically turned into ICU units with COVID patients and because everything is closed down, there are fewer normal trauma cases, and since I stopped all of the elective surgery, you don't have those patients. So the offloading of non-COVID patients really doesn't exist.

'You have protocols that aren't really established, that have to be set up. Theoretically, the U.S. Navy ship Comfort could take a non-COVID trauma case. So I don't know how that protocol works on that,' he added.

'But look, this is, we're all doing the best we can, trying to put together a system, that can handle over 150, 200% of what the system is designed to do. And the federal facilities are an advantage. For us, what it is going to come down to is the staff burnout, staff getting sick, we have 80,000 volunteers, can we get them oriented to the right hospitals and in the right places.'

Already on Thursday, President Donald Trump had given approval for Cuomo to open up the temporary medical facility in the Javitts Center in Manhattan to coronavirus patients after it was originally established to treat non-COVID-19 patients only.

The move came as the city struggles to establish more beds for patients and medical staff to treat them as Mayor de Blasio announced that 65,000 more beds would be set up in the Big Apple in the next four weeks.

Dowling told the New York Times that the Northwell Health hospital system has already torn itself apart to find space for further beds.

On March 20, Northwell hospitals housed 100 COVID-19 patients. This had risen to 2,800 by Thursday.

'It's pretty ridiculous,' he said of the Comfort.

'If you're not going to help us with the people we need help with, what's the purpose?'

Capt. Patrick Amersbach, the commanding officer of the medical personnel aboard the Comfort, has said that the crew will continue to follow orders to treat only non-coronavirus cases until they are told otherwise.

'If our mission shifts, we do what we can to meet that mission,' he said.

As reported by the New York Times, an outbreak on board the Comfort would be disastrous and would quickly spread, cutting off the ship's operations.

All crew are required to stay on board through the duration of the mission to New York and were forced to go into a 14-day isolation before it began to ensure they had no symptoms.

The news came as Dr. Anthony Fauci called on the government to issue a nationwide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of coronavirus and said that CDC advice to wear masks in public will 'come soon'.

The US's top medical expert on the pandemic and a member of President Trump's coronavirus task force said during a town call with CNN Thursday night that he didn't understand why a nationwide lockdown hadn't been issued by the president.

Fauci also confirmed that guidance on people wearing face masks would be released soon, after Trump said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to advise all Americans to start wearing cloth masks or other face coverings in public.

Earlier on Thursday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio issued guidance for all New Yorkers that they should cover their mouth and nose with a cloth mask when they leave their homes.

Speaking during his daily press conference on the city's coronavirus response, the mayor revealed that new evidence has suggested that face coverings may prevent the spread of the coronavirus but added he did not regret delaying the order.

De Blasio warned that most New Yorkers should craft their own face covering using cloth, a scarf or a bandanna, leaving face masks for medical staff and others working on the front line.

He also warned New Yorkers that the 'toughest weeks are ahead' and again hammered home the date of April 5 as 'D-Day' for the city.

Sunday has been touted as the day the city will run out of essential medical supplies as it currently stands.

'April 5 is a crucial, crucial date for New York City,' he said in the press conference.

A graph by computer scientist Mark Handley shows how the US's trajectory compared to other countries until March 28

A separate graph shows how the states vary in comparison to Italy until March 31

The US was the first country to report 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day on Wednesday as the death toll soared past 5,000 - and it continues to rise. The figire rose over 6,000 on Thursday.

With more than 245,000 infections across the country, America is now worse affected by COVID-19 than any other country in the world has been.

The virus shows no signs of slowing down, despite the entire nation being on lockdown, and experts say as many as 200,000 will die by the time the pandemic is over.

On Thursday, the death toll continued to rise to 6.056.

There are fears that the next epicenter will be the city of Detroit, after the death toll in Michigan doubled in just three days - a sign of exponential growth which scientists use as an indicator of spikes.

The US death toll is now dwarfing the number of deaths officially reported in China (3,337), where the outbreak first originated back in December.

While the death toll in Italy (13,915) and Spain (10,348) is still higher, the US eclipsed the hard-hit European nations' confirmed cases, with both Italy (115,242) and Spain (112,065) reporting only around half the number of infections.

Italy's deadliest day was on March 26, when 969 new deaths were reported. China's figures are less clear.

Contemporaneous reports indicate that its deadliest day was in February when 242 died in Hubei province alone. There is growing skepticism over the country's reported deaths and infections, with some saying the government is hiding the true number.

Bodies are flowing through Brooklyn hospitals 'like a conveyor belt' and as many as 130 MORE mobile morgues are on their way to NYC as experts predict citywide death toll to top 16,000

Bodies of coronavirus victims are flowing through Brooklyn hospitals 'like a conveyor belt' and as many as 130 more mobile morgues are on their way to New York City to store them as experts warn that the death toll in the US pandemic epicenter could reach 16,000.

Hospitals and healthcare professionals are struggling to bring the crisis under control and the city is becoming overwhelmed with dead bodies as the pandemic is poised to kill more New Yorkers than 9/11.

The US Department of Defense is also sending 42 mortuary affairs officers and the New York Air National Guard has sent a 12-person team to help the city run the mobile morgues.

One of the mobile morgues was placed outside the hard-hit Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, where one doctor said bodies have been passing through 'like a conveyor belt'. Brookdale ran out of space in its in-house morgue, which holds 25 bodies, on Tuesday.

Nursing staff ran out of body bags the next day as the mobile morgue outside climbed closer and closer to capacity.

New York state continues to be the hardest-hit in the US with 92,381 infections and 2,373 deaths as of Thursday.

Bodies are loaded onto a refrigerated truck outside of Wyckoff Medical Center in Brooklyn on Thursday

New York state continues to be the hardest-hit in the US with 92,381 infections and 2,373 deaths as of Thursday

New estimates predict that the death toll in the Big Apple alone could surpass 16,000, threatening to overwhelm the city's usual system for accommodating the dead as bottlenecks emerge at every step from hospitals to funeral homes to cemeteries and crematoriums.

While the healthcare system buckles under the strain, the disposal of bodies is fast becoming the latest crisis with a 'bottleneck' emerging between the bodies being taken from the city's hospitals to funeral homes and to crematories and cemeteries.

A domino effect has meant victims' bodies are left lying in refrigerated trucks for days as there is not enough space in hospital morgues, funeral homes can't keep up with demand and cemeteries are operating less than usual due to the city's lockdown and social distancing rules.

Mobile morgues have been drafted in to plug the gap and the city's medical examiner's office has taken control of the disposal of bodies and started taking in bodies to its five facilities.

Healthcare workers wheel the bodies of deceased people from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center during the outbreak of the coronavirus

New estimates predict that the death toll in the Big Apple alone could surpass 16,000, threatening to overwhelm the city's usual system for accommodating the dead as backups emerge at every step from hospitals to funeral homes to cemeteries and crematoriums

Hospitals and healthcare professionals are struggling to bring the crisis under control and the city is becoming overwhelmed with dead bodies as the pandemic is poised to kill more New Yorkers than 9/11

On average 158 people die in New York City each day.

On April 1, 278 people died from coronavirus alone - and the figure has been on the rise.

As a growing number of hospitals reach capacity in their in-house morgues, he office of the chief medical examiner has been drafted in to be put in charge of identifying and picking up the dead.

The medical examiner's office can take on 900 bodies across five facilities but this is still far from enough.

The city has already set up 45 mobile morgues around the five boroughs to take on another 3,500 bodies and 130 more of the refrigerated units are on the way.

NYPD is forced to BEG the government for masks after 1,400 officers are struck down with coronavirus - while the White House dubs its response 'Operation Blue Bloods' and then BOASTS about it in a press conference

The NYPD was forced to beg the government to send more masks for officers, only for the White House to turn it into a publicity stunt with the catchy name 'Operation Blue Bloods' and boast about its own response.

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan sent a desperate email to the White House Monday pleading for more protective gear, after 1,400 officers have already been struck down with the deadly virus.

Shortages of masks have left officers at increased risk of contracting the infection, as they are left with no choice but to make house calls across the city without any protective equipment.

The city's cops have been sacrificing their own health during the pandemic in order to protect New York residents.

A police officer stands outside Mount Sinai Hospital on April 1. The NYPD was forced to beg the government to send more masks for officers, after cops were risking their lives responding to house calls without protective gear

The White House grasped the opportunity to up its ratings, dubbing its rapid response with the catchy name 'Operation Blue Bloods' and then boasting about its long overdue achievement in a press conference.

President Donald Trump's newly-appointed equipment czar Peter Navarro led the response and was happy to show off his work one week into the job.

'At the White House we love to move in Trump time, which is 'as soon as possible,'' he said.

Navarro then insisted that he didn't need any 'thanks' for stepping in.

'We're not interested in thanks. We just want the people of New York to know the White House is thinking about them and getting it done,' he said.

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan sent a desperate email to the White House Monday pleading for more protective gear, after 1,400 officers have already been struck down with the deadly virus

NYPD officers (like those pictured above on March 31) have been sacrificing their own health during the pandemic in order to protect New York residents

Frontline workers have warned that they don't have enough masks and some doctors and nurses have told how they have resorted to measures including cleaning old masks to try to keep themselves protected as much as possible.

But the supply shortage was nowhere to be seen in this scenario with the White House managing to locate and deliver gear to the NYPD within just 16 hours of Monahan's cry for help.

According to the New York Post, in 16 hours 'Operation Blue Bloods' was able to bring together a rapid-response team and fly in masses of supplies the next day.

Navarro sought the help of defense companies Raytheon and General Dynamics, and alcohol Pernod Richard to send supplies of protective suits, gloves and masks.

The operation flew in more than 1,750 crime scene Tyvek suits on private Raytheon plane on Tuesday afternoon, and another 2,125 on Wednesday.

