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Updated April 7th, 2020 at 10:56 IST

Pentagon: Hospital ships treating virus patients

The Pentagon said Monday the two U.S. Navy hospital ships deployed to help with hospital overflow during the coronavirus pandemic are treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

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The Pentagon said Monday the two U.S. Navy hospital ships deployed to help with hospital overflow during the coronavirus pandemic are treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

The USNS Mercy, currently in Los Angeles, and the USNS Comfort, in New York, were intended as trauma treatment facilities to treat only COVID-negative patients and take pressure off of the local hospitals.

But Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the top doctor on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the ships are treating patients who turned out to be COVID19 positive and medics on the ship are treating those patients.

Friedrichs said both hospital ships have the ability to isolate "a small number" of #COVID19 patients.

Friedrichs also said the Department of Defense is currently helping to develop 5 different vaccine candidates.

He said while there has been some progress on the vaccine front, he doesn't want to "create a false expectation...that the vaccine is right around the corner."

Friedrich says a vaccine is still months away "as we step through doing this as safely and effectively as possible."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.

 

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Published April 7th, 2020 at 10:56 IST

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