USNS Comfort hospital ship to depart New York City on Thursday

The USNS Comfort hospital ship docked in New York City will depart for its Norfolk, Virginia, home port on Thursday, Navy officials said Tuesday.

The ship, intended to relieve shore-based hospitals of non-coronavirus patients, has spent more than three weeks in New York City’s harbor with the majority of its hospital beds empty.

The mission eventually changed, allowing COVID-19-positive patients to be cared for by the ship’s medical personnel in an effort to ease the strain on hospitals in New York City, which has been hammered by the health crisis.

The city has reported the bulk of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. at 17,682, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The U.S. has reported more than 1 million cases across the country, and a total of 58,355 deaths and 115,935 recoveries.

Once the ship — with its 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms — returns, its medical supplies will be refilled and it will be prepared for another mission, officials said.

The comfort’s sister ship, the USNS Mercy, has been docked in Los Angeles since early this month, and officials have not indicated a future departure date.