Photos: Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Arrives In Coronavirus-Hit NYC

NEW YORK CITY — The USNS Comfort hospital ship arrived in New York City Monday morning as cases of the new coronavirus reached more than 33,000.

The 1,000-bed ship arrived at New York Harbor's Pier 90 as the spreading pandemic continued to mount pressure on the city's hospital facilities.

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"We knew from the outset that expanded hospital capacity was critical," tweeted Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "This ship is a step forward in our fight against Coronavirus."

The hospital craft will serve as a relief for hospitals struggling to meet the demands of a COVID-19 pandemic by treating patients sick with other ailments, Cuomo said.

President Donald Trump dispatched the hospital ship and 1,200 personnel members from Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Saturday.

"This great ship behind me is a 70,000-ton message of hope to the people of New York City," the president said. "A place I love."

Trump's handling of the pandemic in New York City has spurred outrage from city and state lawmakers who called his initial gift of 400 ventilators too little too late and compared his threats Saturday of an "enforceable" quarantine to a declaration of state war.

"I can tell you I don't like the sound of it," Cuomo said. "Not even understanding what it is, I don't like the sound of it."

New York State will need an estimated 140,000 beds to handle the COVID-19 pandemic Cuomo has warned will overwhelm the hospital system.

The need for more hospital beds spurred the Federal Emergency Response Agency to build a 1,000-bed hospital at the Javits Center and a Mt. Sinai and a North Carolina evangelical group 68-bed field hospital in Central Park.

As of Sunday evening, New York City had 33,474 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which had been linked to the deaths of 776 city dwellers.

The ships arrival drew hundreds of New Yorkers to their windows to watch it sail up the Hudson. Among them, Hugh Jackman:

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