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As the worries regarding the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected so many countries outside of China, increase, the more drastic the measures government officials have taken. President Donald Trump recently announced his intention of dispatching Navy hospital ships to the harbors of areas that have a lot of coronavirus cases.
The global pandemic that is the coronavirus or COVID-19 has drastically changed the way of life for millions of people all over the world. Countries with the most cases are resorting to drastic measures as an effort to contain and prevent the spread of the disease, all the while public health experts and officials who are practicing physicians are in the frontlines treating and testing potential patients. Politico reports that Trump has announced that he will be dispatching the USNS Comfort, which is a hospital ship towards New York harbor. At the same time, Trump is invoking the Defense Production Act to further expand its response to the pandemic.
According to Defense Secretary Mark Esper revealed that he has informed the field and expeditionary hospitals to be prepared for deployment when they are needed as back up the response. While the USNS Comfort is handling the patients and cases on the East Coast, the USNS Mercy, another hospital ship, will be taking on the West Coast. The two hospital ships are to set sail by next week.
The Navy is currently appointing people to serve as the crew while preparing the two hospital ships for its launch. According to Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman, the USNS Mercy should be good to go over the next few days, but the USNS Comfort may need two weeks to prepare due to the ship’s maintenance.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been hit hard by the economic crisis, even more so now as the Trump stock rally has nearly been erased in its entirety. By Wednesday afternoon, the Dow dropped below 19,732 points and momentarily dropped past the closing level of the index back in January 19th, 2017, the day before Trump was sworn into his presidency. The index finished below 20,000 points for the first time since 2017.
