As in 1918, New York may use staggered work hours to keep subway safe

FILE PHOTO: A sign hangs across the entrance to a subway station indicating that the subway is closed for cleaning, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) - As New York City makes plans to reopen in the coming months, officials are dusting off the playbook from the 1918 flu pandemic, when businesses were ordered to begin their work days at staggered times to prevent the subway from becoming a vector of disease.

The idea, then and now, is to spread riders through the day to avoid the kind of crowding health experts fear could turn the subway into a breeding ground for the novel coronavirus which has killed over 20,000 people in the city.