COVID-19 Causes A Sharp Rise In Deaths Of NYC Homeless

Some 631 homeless New Yorkers died between July of 2019 and June of 2020, a 52% increase compared to the prior fiscal year, according to data released Tuesday by the de Blasio administration, a grim indicator of the effect of the coronavirus on people lacking permanent housing. 

The largest number of those deaths occurred between April and June, when COVID-19 first began to bear down on the city. As infections grew and communities of color were devastated by the pandemic, so was the city’s vast shelter system, where single adults typically share a room with several others.