Comfort began deployment from Norfolk, Virginia, to New York Harbor on 28 March 2020 to help deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] Comfort arrived in New York on 30 March,[13][14] and docked at Pier 90.[15] Although the ship has 1,100 personnel and a capacity of 1,000 beds, as of 3 April it was treating only 22 patients;[16] the low figure was attributable to "bureaucratic obstacles and military procedures."[15]