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De Blasio: Something "Doesn't Make Sense" In Deaths Of Three Men At Quarantine Hotel In Times Square
By
David Cruz
Published Apr 20, 2020
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By
David Cruz
Published Apr 20, 2020
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Mayor Bill de Blasio says the city will beef up the number of medical staffers to monitor guests at an isolation hotel in Times Square where three men died over the weekend after recovering from COVID-19 at area hospitals.
A “full review” into the deaths of the three men, ages 42, 64, and 70, is now underway. At his daily news briefing this morning, de Blasio said he was perplexed by the deaths, noting that the victims had been diagnosed and treated for coronavirus at three separate hospitals—Montefiore Medical Center, Maimonides Health System, and Harlem Hospital, part of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation—only to die after being released and sent to the hotel on West 37th Street.
Two of the men died on Saturday, and a third died on Sunday. It’s unclear if the men died because of COVID-19. The Office of the Medical Examiner is expected to determine the official cause of death.
“If they were all discharged and all were from different hospitals, something doesn’t make sense here,” said de Blasio. “You think if someone has been discharged from the hospital it’s an all clear.”
Representatives for the three hospitals also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deaths come a week after the city had announced a free program that made 11,000 hotel rooms available for healthcare workers looking to self-isolate, as well as those who’ve recovered from COVID-19 but have no proper place to go where indoor social distancing is possible. The city is also relocating an estimated 6,000 homeless people into hotel rooms as part of the effort to slow the spread of coronavirus in city shelters.
Those quarantined at these hotels get a routine wellness phone call to determine if guests have any symptoms. If guests do not answer a phone call, hotel workers stop by the guest’s hotel room to check up on them. If guests show symptoms, they are asked to seek medical attention.
New York City, meantime, remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, with 129,788 reported cases, 36,602 hospitalized, and more than 12,000 deaths reported, according to available statistics from the New York City Department of Health.
A representative for Hilton Hotels said the corporate office is currently working with the hotel's franchise owners to determine the facts of each these cases.
As authorities investigate, de Blasio said the extra personnel brought in will be tasked with checking “on people more deeply."
“We want to know exactly what’s going on and we’re confused how this could have happened,” said de Blasio.
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COVID-19
de Blasio
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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