Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement at a news conference Monday.
From February 22, the opening hours of the nightly closure will be adjusted from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. instead of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
“The COVID numbers have gone down, so we are adjusting, we have dinner indoors, adjusted curfews, today we are going to discuss the MTA and increase capacity,” said Cuomo.
The governor said that during those night hours the trains are still being evacuated and cleaned.
“CDC says it, health experts say it, the COVID virus is not transmitted as much as was initially suggested on surfaces, but it can still be transmitted,” said Cuomo. ‘You want to be safe from crime and COVID in the MTA system. When you’re my age, trains have never been as clean as they are now. ‘
The nighttime closure of the metro has been going on for almost 10 months. Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg said the adjustments to the nighttime closure are starting to seem like a return to normal.
“We have made plans for our own reopening and return to night shift and we have determined that a shortened nighttime shutdown is a significant step forward towards a return of 24-hour shift,” said Feinberg. “To be clear, we will continue with our cleaning regime, we will continue to clean and disinfect our system 24 hours a day.”
Feinberg said the MTA is confident that it can maintain the cleaning and disinfection they have been able to do so far.
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