Subway cleaning gets underway - around sleeping homeless people - as MTA says it will use ultraviolet lights to kill coronavirus on NYC subways, buses(13 Pics)

Enhanced Subway cleaning is underway in New York City.

Ultraviolet light will be used in an attempt to rid public transport of coronavirus. 

The city's public transport system will be closed overnight from Wednesday to allow for daily cleaning of the trains for the essential workers using them while most city residents are staying at home. 

Police and outreach workers will handle the homeless people who have been sleeping on the subway - which has run around the clock for more than a century - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a weekend briefing yesterday, offering to get them services and shelter. 

Meanwhile the modern ultraviolet technology will be trialed to clean trains, buses and work areas in the city next week, officials announced on Sunday. 

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A New York City MTA transit worker cleans a subway car, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City on Monday 

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A New York City MTA transit worker cleans a subway car. The city's public transport system will be closed overnight from Wednesday to allow for daily cleaning of the trains for the essential workers using them while most city residents are staying at home

The lights will be tested on a fraction of the MTA's trains and buses from Monday, May 11, and will be expanded if researchers find the treatment is effective.  

The transit authority partnered with scientists at Columbia University, previously testing UV light technologies as a way to quickly eliminate other diseases, in a bid to upgrade from the bleach and chemical sprays currently used to clean the public areas. 

Lamps emitting powerful ultraviolet rays known as 'UV-C' will be placed inside subway carriages and buses at two MTA rail yards and one bus depot. 

The rays can harm people who are directly exposed to them. 

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Lamps emitting powerful ultraviolet rays known as 'UV-C' will be placed inside subway carriages and buses at two MTA rail yards and one bus depot starting next week

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A transit worker wears PPE while cleaning a transit car in New York City on Monday, above and below 

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Police and outreach workers will handle the homeless people who have been sleeping on the subway

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Modern ultraviolet technology will be trialed to clean trains, buses and work areas in the city next week, officials announced on Sunday

According to David Brenner, director of Columbia University's Center for Radiological Research, there is no direct research to prove the rays kill coronavirus. 

But, he continued: 'There's no doubt that it's going to have some beneficial effect, because if you can remove all the viruses every morning then that's going to be a big plus.

'During the day the viruses start to come back as people are in the compartment and they're coughing or sneezing or whatever.' 

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The rays can harm people who are directly exposed to them. New York City became the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the US on March 20

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The MTA announced on Sunday its plans to use ultraviolet lamps as a method to disinfect trains, buses, and work areas amid the coronavirus pandemic

It comes after officers from the New York City Police Department were seen ordering homeless people off the subways on Thursday, just a day after officials pledged to take action against them sleeping on empty trains during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Photos showed officers wearing masks and gloves as they woke up individuals who were laying down or sleeping in the train cars.

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Police wake up a homeless person on the A train last Thursday morning. From May 6, the subway system will be entirely shut down between 1am and 5am for cleaning (File image) 

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Since the pandemic, subway ridership has decreased by 90 percent. Homeless people have all but moved onto the empty cars but it has worsened the public health risk for them and for the MTA workers (File image) 

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Officers direct a woman who was sleeping on the train to an exit at the 207th Street Station last week (File image) 

Other images showed the people gathering their belongings as they walked off a train at the 207th Street A train station in Manhattan.

New York City became the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the US on March 20.

The number of confirmed cases in the state of New York has reached 324,357 with a death toll of 24,788.