Plans to close New York City’s subways at night to disinfect trains during the coronavirus pandemic risk pushing hundreds of homeless people “further into the shadows”, housing experts warned, calling for safe alternatives to house them.
The overnight closing of the transit system, which starts on Wednesday, will allow for daily cleaning of the trains for the essential workers using them while most city residents are staying at home, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Police and outreach workers will handle the homeless people who have been sleeping on the subway – which has run around the clock for more than a century – Cuomo said at a weekend briefing, offering to get them services and shelter. But most city-run shelters or other shared housing options fail to protect the homeless from the deadly respiratory virus, housing activists said, with little space to self-isolate and often unsanitary conditions.
New York City has been the nation’s epicenter in the pandemic, with more than 170,000 coronavirus cases and more than 13,000 deaths, according to its Health Department. Before the pandemic, some 2,000 people slept on the subways each night, according to the Coalition, with the current figure likely to be higher as job losses force rising numbers to sleep rough. Authorities said that over the weekend two homeless men were found dead on subway trains. One tested negative for the coronavirus and the other’s test was pending, according to local media.
Health experts say homeless people are more likely to contract illnesses such as the coronavirus, in part because of weakened immune systems due to additional stress, and lack of nutrition and sleep. More than 60 coronavirus victims have died in New York City homeless shelters, according to officials. The city has more than 100,000 vacant hotel rooms, by some estimates, that could be put to use instead. People on the streets often treasure their independence, said R.J., who was homeless for several years and now lives in Urban Pathways housing. He did not want his full name used.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
Finnish site 
Global site