Only 20 patients currently being treated on USNS Comfort in NYC

Only 20 patients were being treated Thursday on the USNS Comfort hospital ship that docked in the New York harbor earlier this week to aid in the coronavirus fight.

The vessel’s captain, Patrick Amersbach, said in a call with reporters on Thursday morning that only three of the 1,000 beds on the ship were put in use since the first patient was accepted Wednesday — but he expected the number to increase soon.

A Navy spokeswoman on Thursday night updated the number to 20.

“The process continues and we are honestly looking forward to seeing a significant increase in patients being transferred to the Comfort,” Amersbach said, adding that each patient must be referred to the ship by a local hospital.

Another US Navy hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, had a total of 15 patients, that vessel’s captain, John Rotruck, said on the call.

Rather than take on victims of the pandemic, both ships were brought in to treat patients with other injuries and ailments, freeing up beds in overwhelmed hospitals for those who need them most.

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