Ask An Epidemiologist: A Subway Safety Update

don't rub your eyes [View this email in your browser]( Ask An Epidemiologist: How To Stay Safe From COVID-19 While Riding The Subway Plus: The MTA's office in Brooklyn plans to vaccinate 1,000 employees a week. An apprenticeship program for transit workers could get cut. And truck traffic in and out of Manhattan is booming. By James Ramsay [masked riders stand in a crowded subway car] Peter Foley/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Despite the MTA's ([arguably unnecessary]( subway deep-cleaning — and the growing scientific evidence that the coronavirus [hasn't spread on subways]( anyway — many riders are still nervous about getting on the train. This week, Gothamist's Sydney Pereira checked in with epidemiologist Dr. Jessica Justman from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health for an update on how to travel safely by subway. Below are excerpts from their conversation: What do you feel like is the one thing around subway riding and COVID risks that has changed the most since a year ago? A year ago, we had an inkling that this was spread through respiratory transmission, but there was more uncertainty about how important surface transmission might be. Now a year later, it's abundantly clear that the respiratory droplets in the aerosols play the most important role in transmission. Contamination of surfaces with the coronavirus virus really is of minimal importance. Do people still need to wash their hands? Hand washing does remain important. When coming out of the subway, it's good to use hand sanitizer right away. It helps in case you accidentally rub your eyes or touch your nose or touch your mouth. And eye protection is a good idea. If you're wearing something over your eyes, you're less likely to touch your eyes. It becomes a barrier. As people start to ride the subways more often, what should they do if there is a crowded platform or a crowded train car? The ideal is to wait for a different train, or try and walk to the front or the back of the train and get onto a car that's less crowded. The days of riding during rush hour on a completely packed subway where everybody's packed in like sardines — I certainly don't want to do that anytime soon. This may be a matter of personal preference‚ but how crowded is too crowded? This is subjective. I think that if all of the seats are full, that is a very full train. I probably would have second thoughts about that. [Most Americans]( wear masks now. But what should people do if there is someone without a mask near them on a train? I would try very hard to stay more than six feet away from the person who's not wearing a mask. If you really have to take the subway to get somewhere, and you don't have time to wait and wait, and all the seats are full, that's when I would be really focused on double masking, wearing eye protection, and working really hard to not touch your face. Then use hand sanitizer, or wash your hands when you come out of the subway. In other words, maximize your protective measures if you really have to be on a full subway train. — [Read the full interview here]( Lawsuit Against MTA Over Lack Of Accessible Stations Gets Class-Action Status [a wheelchair user pushes through a subway station gate] Amy Pearl/Gothamist A State Supreme Court judge ruled this week that a 2017 accessibility lawsuit filed agains the MTA does qualify as a class-action suit, since the widespread lack of elevators at subway stations affects about 500,000 New Yorkers. The plaintiffs hope their new designation as a class will get the MTA to stop fighting the case. Ultimately, they want the agency to sign a legally-binding agreement to make all 472 subway stations accessible, rather than just issuing a pledge that could get scrapped for any reason. "The goal of making the entire system more accessible will continue to inform the way we approach everything we do at the MTA and we recently hired Quemuel Arroyo as the first ever Chief Accessibility Office to lead this work," said MTA spokesperson Andrei Berman. Arroyo, who came to the job from the city's Department of Transportation, recently [told Gothamist that he doesn’t believe all stations need elevators]( and he's exploring the possibility of installing ramps at some stations instead. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( Here's What Else Is Happening The MTA may end an apprenticeship program that trained high school grads for well-paying technical jobs. The agency indicated that budget problems could force them to end the program, which costs $2 million a year to run. Union officials were outraged, with one TWU Local 100 vice chair noting that for the trainees who complete the program, it's "like a jetpack straight into the middle class." ([THE CITY]( The 21-year-old man who killed two people in a recent subway stabbing spree had been on a downward spiral of mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. All four of Rigoberto Lopez's victims were homeless, and some also suffered from addiction and mental illness. While transit officials immediately dispatched 650 more cops into the subway system, some activists said this tragedy instead shows the need for more social workers underground. ([The New York Times]( NYC Transit plans to vaccinate 1,000 workers a week at its downtown Brooklyn headquarters. All MTA workers are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine at the site, which is operating between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. ([New York Post]( The NYPD only investigated 10% of crashes that resulted in critical injuries last year. A police official told the New York City Council yesterday that while 4,000 crashes led to critical injuries last year — and 245 people died — only 374 investigations were launched. City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and others are pushing to have crashes investigated by the Department of Transportation rather than the NYPD. ([AM New York]( Mayor de Blasio will fund a program forcing reckless drivers to take a safety course. The Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program, which was introduced by Council Member Brad Lander and signed into law by the mayor, initially had its funding pulled because of the pandemic. Now, it's scheduled to start up in the fall, forcing drivers with 15 speeding tickets or five red light camera tickets in a one-year period to either take a safety class or have their vehicle impounded. ([Streetsblog]( Port Authority and MTA data shows that truck traffic in and out of the city has largely rebounded, while car and bus traffic remain lower. Despite a boom in package deliveries — hence the increase in truck traffic — the Port Authority is still projecting a $3 billion revenue loss due to the decline of people commuting into Manhattan for work. ([Gothamist]( [The logo for WQXR's Classical Commute playlist, featuring an illustration of Beethoven in a conductor's car] Wearing headphones on the subway won't add protection from the coronavirus, but I can attest that listening to this week's Classical Commute playlist can absolutely lower your stress levels. [Stream it for free on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of February 26th – Early Morning on March 1st This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. Note: The entire subway system is still closed each night this weekend from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. trains will not run between 137 St and Dyckman St. trains will not run between Bowling Green and Utica Av/New Lots Av. Ozone Park/Far Rockaway-bound and Euclid Av-bound trains will skip 135 St, 155 St and 163 St. trains will not run between Queensboro Plaza and 34 St-Hudson Yards, and Flushing-bound trains will skip 82 St, 90 St, 103 St and 111 St. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. James Ramsay may or many not have sent this newsletter [from down here](. (Photo by Amy Pearl) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2021 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](