California officials say a Navy hospital ship temporarily docked in Los Angeles Harbor to help during the coronavirus crisis will depart on Friday.
The Mercy arrived at the end of March to provide beds for non-coronavirus cases to take the load off regional medical centers expecting a surge of COVID-19 patients. However, Los Angeles hospitals haven't been overrun with virus cases, and so the Mercy didn’t play a huge role as a safety net.
Officials didn’t release details on the timing of the departure of the massive white ship. It will return to its home port in San Diego.