Multiple patients infected with coronavirus were transferred to the hospital ship Comfort from the Javits Center in New York by mistake, three U.S. officials tell Fox News.
The number of Covid-19 patients brought on board the hospital ship was estimated to be “less than five,” one official said. The information had not been previously reported.
The patients were transferred sometime Friday, according to the officials. At the time that the patients were transferred to the hospital ship, the initial screening did not indicate they were positive, officials said.
The top general leading the coronavirus response for the U.S. military told Fox News there was another COVID-19 patient who showed up to the hospital ship Comfort in New York earlier Saturday after being delivered by ambulance. The patient later tested positive on board while in isolation.
“We are treating the emergency situation that needs to be treated,” Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy said in a phone interview with Fox News Saturday afternoon and disclosed the new case aboard Comfort.
While Navy officials say the handful of previously unknown COVID-19 patients testing positive for the virus on board is proof the protocols put in place are working, it’s also a sign of the complexity this pandemic presents for medical personnel battling the pandemic in New York.
Until Friday, the 3,000-bed makeshift hospital at the Javit Center only treated non-COVID-19 patients. One day earlier, President Trump approved New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s request to have Javits treat COVID patients. – READ MORE
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