NY subway trains to be sanitized every 72 hours to prevent coronavirus spreading

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) said Tuesday that it would start conducting deep cleans of New York City’s subway trains and busses every three days in order to keep the coronavirus from spreading in the city. 

Transport Workers Union president Tony Utano told NBC’s New York affiliate that subway turnstiles, station handrails, MetroCard and ticket vending machines would be wiped down daily by MTA employees.

In all, the heightened sanitation measures encompass 472 subway stations, 21 Staten Island Railway stations, 124 Long Island Railroad stations and terminals and more than 100 Metro-North train stations, according to the agency.

“While there has been only one confirmed case of coronavirus in New York and it did not involve the mass transit system, we are committed to doing everything we can to keep in front of the situation and protect our customers and employees,” MTA CEO and Chairman Pat Foye said.

The measures come after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Sunday that increased cleaning precautions would be put in place.

Cuomo made the announcement after it was discovered that a 39-year-old Manhattan woman tested positive for the virus after returning from Iran, which has been hit hard by an outbreak of the virus. She was the first confirmed case of the virus in New York, a city that’s home to nearly 9 million people.

Cuomo said that the woman is being quarantined in her home.

Six Americans have died from the coronavirus, all in Washington state.