New York welcomes hospital ship, Cuomo calls for out-of-state healthcare workers

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The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort arrived in New York Harbor on Monday, docking on Manhattan's west side to handle the overflow of non-coronavirus patients as New York City hospitals continued to be overrun with people suffering from COVID-19.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio welcomed the federal help.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY MAYOR, BILL DE BLASIO, SAYING:

"We've all been through a lot these last few weeks, and we needed this boost... And there could not be a better example of all of America pulling for New York City than the arrival of the USNS Comfort."

At Midtown Manhattan's Javits Center, which on Monday became operational as a massive field hospital, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for healthcare workers outside the state to help New York's overwhelmed hospitals battle the coronavirus.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, SAYING:

"The soldiers in this fight are our healthcare professionals... Those are the troops who are fighting this battle for us. We need to recruit more healthcare workers... As governor of New York, I am asking healthcare professionals across the country, if you don't have a healthcare crisis in your community, please come help us in New York now."

Cuomo announced that New York, the hardest-hit state in the country, saw deaths climb to more than 1,200 as of Monday, and the Democratic governor appealed for bipartisan cooperation in the fight against the virus and partnership with Republican President Donald Trump.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO, SAYING:

"I am not engaging the president in politics. My only goal is to engage the president in partnership. This is no time for politics... If there was ever a moment for unity, this, my friends, is the moment."

Meanwhile, a field hospital was being constructed in Central Park next to Mount Sinai Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, which was expected to start accepting patients on Tuesday.

Across New York City, residents have been coming to their windows and balconies each night at 7pm to participate in #ClapBecauseWeCare, a show of appreciation to the city's healthcare workers.

According to a Reuters tally, New York state accounts for almost half the country's more than 152,000 cases and more than 40% of its more than 2,800 deaths.

The United States now has the most coronavirus cases in the world, and officials in Detroit and New Orleans - two of the fastest-growing areas for the virus - expected more patients and a shortage of resources at their hospitals.