Two homeless men, aged 57 and 61, are found dead in New York City subway trains within 12 hours of each other, as medical examiner investigates whether coronavirus killed them

• MTA employees found a 57-year-old deceased man on a C train at 7.30pm Friday  
• Body of a 61-year-old man was discovered on the 4 train at a station in Brooklyn  
• No foul play is expected but a medical examiner will determine cause of death
• Authorities said it's unclear if the men died from coronavirus, noting that the deaths appeared to be from natural causes  

Employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) discovered the bodies of two homeless me on separate subway trains within the span of 12 hours in New York City.

According to the New York Daily News, an MTA crew found one man on a C train around 7.30pm on Friday. 

The 57-year-old man was slouched over while the train was stopped at the 168th St station. 

Around 8.30am on Saturday, MTA employees found the body of a 61-year-old man on the 4 train at the Utica Avenue station in Brooklyn.

Employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) found one man (pictured) on a C train around 7.30pm on Friday

The man was laying across several seats on the train when he was discovered. 

Both men are believed to have died of natural causes, officers said, adding that no foul play is expected but a medical examiner will determine the cause of death.

Police also noted that it's unclear if the men died from the coronavirus. New York City quickly became the epicenter for the virus in mid-March. Since then, the city has recorded at least 13,156 deaths and more than 166,000 cases of the virus. 

The deaths come just days after Gov Andrew Cuomo announced that the subway system will shut down each day from 1am to 5am so trains and stations can be disinfected. 

The homeless have long taken refuge on the city's subways, but the problems that their plight poses - for them and other riders - has become more visible during the pandemic.

Advocates for the homeless say some are taking to trains because they worry about contracting the virus in shelters. The city has put some homeless people in hotel rooms during the crisis.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would send more outreach workers to end-of-the-line stations to try to persuade homeless people to go to shelters.

Police have increased enforcement, removing more than 100 homeless people from trains on Monday alone.

Both men are believed to have died of natural causes, officers said, adding that no foul play is expected. Police also noted that it's unclear if the men died from the coronavirus. New York City quickly became the epicenter for the virus in mid-March

Subway cars, previously cleaned at least once every 72 hours, will be cleaned once every 24 hours starting May 6, Cuomo (pictured disinfecting a train on Saturday) said

'Punitively closing the subways and sending in more police will only make things worse,' said Giselle Routhier, the policy director of advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless. 

'What is actually needed are safe, private spaces where maintaining social distancing is possible.' 

The city's subway system has been partially emptied and financially devastated by stay-at-home orders, and now it is shedding overnight service to make it easier to clean the system and empty it of homeless people who have increasingly taken up residence on vacant trains.

Subway cars, previously cleaned at least once every 72 hours, will be cleaned once every 24 hours starting May 6, Cuomo said. 

Buses, vans and other alternative transportation will be provided for essential workers at no charge while the system is closed, he said.

Commuter trains serving Long Island and the city's northern suburbs will also be disinfected every 24 hours, Cuomo said. City buses will continue to run around-the-clock but will be rotated out of service for cleaning. 

NYPD and MTA officers wake up a sleeping passenger before directing him to exit the 207th Street A-train station on Thursday 

Cuomo said the extra cleaning in the vast system is a 'daunting challenge,' but vital to keeping subways safe.

'You have to disinfect every place a hand could touch on a subway car. Every rail, every pole, every door,' Cuomo said. 'Or, coughing, sneezing, wherever droplets could land.'

Dozens of transit employees have died of the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Pointing to a front-page report Tuesday in the New York Daily News about problems including indecent exposure, filth, and people stretched out on seats, Cuomo said the situation was 'disrespectful' to essential workers who still need the subway to get to work.

Subway ridership has plunged by 92 per cent during the pandemic. The shutdown will happen during hours when the system had, lately, been averaging around 11,000 riders.  

The subway system has operated continuously, 24 hours a day since October 1904, save for relatively short interruptions caused by weather events such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012, blackouts and labor disputes.

A strike in 1966 knocked out service for 12 days, the longest stoppage in the system's history, according to the agency that runs it, the MTA.

State Sen Brad Hoylman called the subway the 'lifeblood of our city' and said he would push to ensure 24/7 service returns as soon as the pandemic is over.