The ship, which departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Saturday with more than 1,100 Navy medical personnel, will serve as a referral hospital for patients not infected with the fast-spreading coronavirus.
Defense Department officials recorded a video of the hospital ship arriving in New York harbor ahead of its medical relief work.
Navy officials said the ship will provide a “full spectrum” of medical care for the citizens of the city, to include “general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults.” The additional support is designed to help existing New York hospitals better respond to growing numbers of coronavirus cases at their facilities.
More than 1,000 New York City residents have already died from the illness. Nationwide, more than 122,000 individuals have contracted the disease and more than 2,000 people have died.