joining us in "cyber hall" is the comfort commanding officer, captain patrick amersbach.for your service and for joining us. >> thank you, ma'am. >> tamron: you have served in combat zones, you served in iraq, you enter into new york city and it is described as a war zone. how was it for you entering the harbor? >> actually, it was one of the most monumental moments of my life. it's one thing to be supporting our nation and that of others, our partners, our allies, but to pull into new york harbor to help americans is an experience i will never forget in my entire life. >> tamron: that is a powerful statement, with everything we've been through. a monumental moment in your life. >> i was as proud as i could possib

now i want to bring in captain patrick amersbach.s the commanding officer of the "usns comfort" in new york city where the ship is now taking coronavirus patients. captain, thank you very much. i understand a crew member of your ship -- by the way, good evening and thank you for doing this. >> absolutely. thanks for having me. >> i understand a crew member on board your ship has tested positive for the coronavirus. this person didn't have contact with patients. but what is being done to care for that crew member and isolate any potential spread? >> sure. the crew member is doing well. they are isolated from the rest of the crew. and as you had mentioned, they had absolutely no contact with any patients aboard the ship. >> so there should -- no one on board the ship should be worried? you're sure that all will be okay, no potential spread to any other crew members? >> well, you know, again, now that we are seeing covid-19 aboard the ship, we really don't know. all we can do is prepare. we can follow guidelines. we can follow policies

patrick amersbach, the commanding officer of the usns comfort. good morning to you, sir.have you. how many patients have you started taking patients? i heard it would maybe start yesterday. how is the process going in the early stages? >> we haven't received any patients yet. we've been working with the officials in new york city as well as -- we have everything lined up as far as communications. >> ed: we're having a hard time hearing you speak. if you speak louder i know you are under difficult conditions. we understand that. how much pressure do you hope to relieve? we know you have 1,000 beds and eventually this week you will be taking non-coronavirus patients. talk a little bit about how much pressure you hope to relieve from these new york city hospitals that has been described as a war zone, sir. >> absolutely. we're getting back the capabilities of the ship. the ship was designed for major combat operations which means combat casualties. we do have the ability to take up to 80icu patients and have ventilator support. we have medical surgical beds as well. some of