WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had ordered the Navy hospital ships Mercy and Comfort to help states impacted by the coronavirus and the military to prepare to deploy field hospitals to help hospitals struggling with treating more patients.
"We are sending upon request the two hospital ships," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They can be launched in the next week or so, depending on need."
It will likely be days, and perhaps weeks, before both military hospital ships are able to relieve some of the medical strain on states hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Navy said.
