New York City will shut down its subway system every night to disinfect. Gov. Andrew Cuomo requested the change Wednesday.
He told reporters, "Any essential worker who shows up and gets on a train should know that that train was disinfected the night before. We don't want them to stay home. We owe it to them to be able to say, the train you ride, the bus you ride has been disinfected and is clean."
Thousands of New York City transit workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, and dozens of them have died from it.
Currently the Metropolitan Transportation Authority disinfects every 72 hours. Now trains and stations will be closed from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. starting May 6. Alternative transportation, such as buses and vans, will be provided free of charge for essential workers during those hours.
On Wednesday night, the MTA also issued new regulations that bar people from remaining in a station for more than an hour and prohibit wheeled carts over 30 inches long or wide such as grocery carts.
