Homeless residents in New York City continued to ride the subway during the coronavirus outbreak despite social distancing orders - as ter...
Homeless residents in New York City continued to ride the subway during the coronavirus outbreak despite social distancing orders - as terminal employees fear the disease will spread.
The streets of New York City have emptied since the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in March, but staffers with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said many homeless residents have settled onto subway trains.
Cell phone video taken of a No. 2 train showed homeless residents sprawled across the train seats as bags and trash are left around on Sunday.
Cell phone footage captured several homeless residents bunkered on the No 2. train in New York City's subway line on Sunday
City officials said they're working to resolve the influx of homeless residents still on the subway, but MTA employees fear not enough has been done.
Train operator Yann Hicks told WLNY he's upset that MTA employees are forced to work in these unhygienic conditions.
'The virus is going back and forth, back and forth in dirty trains with people, homeless, and everybody with no masks on. There’s a problem here,' he said.
As on Monday, New York City had 106,813 confirmed cases and at least 6,182 deaths. The state recorded 195,031 cases and 10,056 deaths.
MTA workers said they're concerned COVID-19 will keep spreading if the subway is not cleaned properly and homeless residents are left without proper facilities
Hicks said the majority of homeless riders don't wear masks and have limited, if any, access to hand sanitizer or soap.
He's afraid COVID-19 could linger without proper cleaning and precautions.
'You look at the videos of Times Square. It’s empty outside,' he said.
'You look at the videos all over the place, it’s empty because everybody’s underground. There’s a whole city of people underground.'
The MTA told WLNY that they've taken action against the crisis brewing underground, including staffers making more than 1,700 contacts with homeless residents in the subway.
Hicks: 'You look at the videos all over the place, it’s empty because everybody’s underground. There’s a whole city of people underground'
Nearly 100 percent of those individuals agreed to accept help and resources, they said.
Additionally, Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed the city will implement 230 new 'safe haven' beds for homeless residents.
He said: 'These are the kinds of beds and facilities that help us get people immediately off the street, who have reached that point where they’re ready to finally come in and accept shelter and change their lives and, hopefully, never, ever go back to the streets.'
But MTA workers want a more dire plan from city officials.
Pictured: The streets of New York City are virtually empty after officials placed the city on lockdown and enforced social distancing guidelines
MTA said subway trains are cleaned daily and the entirety of their fleet is cleaned every 72 hours
'I think they should shut down at least from like midnight to 5 and clean up the trains, clean up the areas where the employees are. Get it all fresh and ready for the next day of essential workers,' said Hicks.
MTA said subway trains are cleaned daily and the entirety of their fleet are cleaned every 72 hours.
Coalition for the Homeless reports that there were 62,679 homeless people as of January 2020, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the number was closer to 78,604 in a 2019 report.
New York Daily News reports that at least 20 homeless residents have died from the coronavirus.
343 homeless New Yorkers were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the city, with 109 in homeless shelters, 15 on the streets and 28 who were referred to the Department of Homeless Services by hospitals.
As of March 29, 94 homeless people were receiving treatment in local hospitals.
The homeless population is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because many don't receive regular health care and some have pre-existing medical conditions.
'More than one hundred New Yorkers who we serve have been able to isolate, resolve their condition, and depart isolation, including some who’d tested positive and others whose initial symptoms abated,' said McGinn. Homeless Services spokesman Isaac McGinn said is helping people find resources, creating isolation units for COVID-19 and transferring older, more vulnerable residents to designated sites.
'We mourn every life tragically taken by this virus and recommit every day to this fight.'
The United States - with the highest number of COVID-19 cases - had 561,767 infections and 22,129 deaths as of Monday.
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