US Navy hospital ship Comfort will LEAVE New York after treating only 179 COVID-19 patients in three weeks because it is no longer needed in the city's fight against coronavirus (10 Pics)

The US Navy's hospital ship Comfort will be returned after the vessel only treated 179 patients infected in three weeks. 

The ship is going back to the Navy after the city's demand for hospital beds did not reach levels that had been projected during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who told President Trump he could have the ship back during his White House visit on Tuesday, expressed confidence that stresses on the hospital system are easing.

The US Navy's hospital ship Comfort will be returned to its Norfolk, Virginia, port after serving as a medical facility for patients infected with the coronavirus in New York City since March 30

US Navy Commander Nelle Linz prepares to enter an intensive care unit on board the Navy's hospital ship Comfort earlier this month. The ship has only treated 179 patients in the three weeks since it was sent to New York City and is now being returned to the Navy

Despite concerns, makeshift hospitals, including the one set up in Manhattan's Jacob Javitz Convention Center, were able to provide enough beds during the outbreak, reports Business Insider.

Trump, offering a slightly different version of the conversation with Cuomo, said he was the one to ask for the Comfort back. 

'We could bring the Comfort back to its base in Virginia so that we could have it in other locations,' detailing what he said he told New York's governor. 

The Navy ship arrived March 30 as state and city officials scrambled to add hospital beds to prepare for a potentially catastrophic surge in COVID-19 cases.

So far, New York City has had 138,345 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which as been blamed for 9,944 confirmed deaths.

Across the US, there have been 856,584 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for more than 48,000 deaths. 

So far, New York City has had 138,345 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which as been blamed for 9,944 confirmed deaths

Across the US, there have been 856,584 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for more than 48,000 deaths.

Cuomo said after meeting with Trump that the Comfort was helpful, but could now be sent elsewhere after being docked for weeks off Manhattan.

The governor said having the ship had been worthwhile, even as the need for it didn't reach the levels that had been projected.

'I believe Comfort not only brought comfort but also saved lives,' Cuomo said. 

The Comfort's service to the city did not escape criticism.

Shortly after arriving, a top New York health executive slammed the 'ridiculous' red-tape for getting treatment. Only four patients had been treated on the vessel in the four days following its arrival.

The Navy hospital ship was dispatched by Trump as a beacon of hope to the struggling city at the time.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (pictured) said having the Navy's hospital ship Comfort in New York City had been worthwhile, even as the need for it didn't reach the levels that had been projected. 'I believe Comfort not only brought comfort but also saved lives,' Cuomo said

The Navy hospital ship Comfort was dispatched to New York a the start of the coronavirus pandemic by President Donald Trump as a beacon of hope to the struggling city at the time. Trump is pictured at his daily coronavirus press briefing this week

US Navy Sailors prepare to transport a patient arriving for medical treatment from an ambulance onto the Navy's hospital ship Comfort

But with ambulances forced to bring patients to a hospital for a coronavirus test first, a long list of medical conditions that the Navy won't treat on board, and a host of other bureaucratic hurdles causing many delays, many of the ship's beds laid empty while its staff was idle.

Michael Dowling, the head of Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system, called the Navy's restrictions a 'joke', after the Comfort could only fill about 4 per cent of its capacity with trauma patients 

Trump, at Cuomo's request, later authorized changing the ship's original mission as an overflow hospital for non-coronavirus patients to also treat patients with the deadly virus.