President Trump sees off Navy hospital ship headed for New York
President Trump spoke at the departure of the USNS Comfort, a U.S. Navy hospital ship, from Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday. The ship is headed to New York City, the U.S. city with the most coronavirus cases.
"This great ship behind me is a 70,000 ton message of hope and solidarity to the incredible people of New York," Mr. Trump said, standing in front of the Comfort. "We're here for you, we're fighting for you, and we're with you all the way."
Mr. Trump's remarks come shortly after the president said he was considering an "enforceable quarantine" of the New York metropolitan area. The president reiterated in his remarks in front of the Comfort that he was considering a quarantine.
"I am now considering, and will make a decision very quickly, very shortly, a quarantine, because it's such a hot area," Mr. Trump said. "We'll be announcing that one way or another fairly soon."
Mr. Trump said that the quarantine would not affect truck drivers passing through the region, or trade in anyway.
The president also announced a dramatic increase in production of ventilators and respirators by American businesses.
Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday he would attend the departure of the ship to "kiss it goodbye." The ship, which holds over 1,000 beds, will carry over 1,200 medical personnel to aid in the city's response to the crisis.
There are now more 104,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States and more than 1,700 people across the country have died from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
States across the nation are seeing a surge in cases, and things are expected to get worse. New York could be just weeks away from reaching its peak in hospitalizations, and California Governor Gavin Newsom said his state's cases grew 26% in one day, even with 65,000 test results pending.
The USNS Mercy, another Navy hospital ship, arrived in Los Angeles on Friday.