With 123,146 cases of Covid-19 and 8,632 deaths, New York is the city hardest hit in the United States by the coronavirus. And its vast transport network has something to do with it, according to a study of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Jeffrey Harris, an MIT economist and author of the study, found a strong correlation between subway ridership and the exponential increase in new Covid-19 cases. ” Le transport network sprawling New York is a major – if not the main – factor in the spread of the initial phase of contamination“, he explains.
The data, covering the period from 1is March to April 3, count the number of entries into the city’s 496 metro stations. As attendance declines, the number of new cases seems to stabilize with a time lag corresponding to the incubation time. In total, metro ridership fell by 86% during the period. Of course, the closure of non-essential businesses and meeting places (barsrestaurants, parks…) has certainly played an important role.
But it is obvious that the metro, with its implications of promiscuity and sources of contamination (handles, portes…) « should be given special attention during deconfinement argues Jeffrey Harris who suggests, for example, staggering working hours, limiting the number of passengers per train or replacing metros with minibus.
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