Three men, between the ages of 42 to 70, are found dead within 48 hours in a New York City hotel used to quarantine recovering COVID-19 patients after they were released from hospitals

  • Three men were found dead at the Hilton Garden Inn in NYC over the weekend 
  • The hotel was being used to hold COVID-19 patients who left hospital care
  • Two men, aged 42 and 70, were found dead in their rooms on Saturday
  • A 64-year-old man was found dead in his room on Sunday 
  • It’s not clear if their deaths were COVID-19 related  
  • The medical examiner’s office will determine the cause of death  
  • Last week Mayor Bill de Blasio announced 11,000 city hotel rooms will be used  to house recovering patients and those who need to quarantine 
  • Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

By Marlene Lenthang For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:15 BST, 20 April 2020 | Updated: 19:35 BST, 20 April 2020

Three men have been found dead over the weekend in a New York City hotel that was used to quarantine recovering COVID-19 patients.

On Saturday two men aged 42 and 70 were found dead in rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn on West 37th Street in Manhattan near Times Square.

A 64-year-old man was found dead in a room on Sunday.

The New York Police Department says that the three deaths were unrelated and were not deemed suspicious.

It’s not immediately clear if they died of COVID-19 complications. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death for the three men.

Three men have been found dead over the weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan (above) that was used to quarantine recovering COVID-19 patients. On Saturday two men aged 42 and 70 were found dead in rooms and on Sunday a 64-year-old man was found dead there

Three men have been found dead over the weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan (above) that was used to quarantine recovering COVID-19 patients. On Saturday two men aged 42 and 70 were found dead in rooms and on Sunday a 64-year-old man was found dead there

EMS workers pictured arriving at the hotel over the weekend in response to the fatalities

EMS workers pictured arriving at the hotel over the weekend in response to the fatalities

EMS workers pictured arriving at the hotel over the weekend in response to the fatalities

The New York Fire Department said they responded to the hotel twice on Saturday and once on Sunday, according to ABC7.  All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

The city of New York announced it will investigate these three weekend deaths.

‘The City has made hotel rooms available to individuals who, for various reasons, are unable to isolate at home. Every death due to this disease is a tragedy, and we are reviewing these incidents,’ a spokesperson said.  

NYPD says that the hotel was under a contract with NYC Emergency Management to house individuals being released from city hospitals after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

The patients moved to the hotel were determined to no longer require medical treatment in hospital. 

However, they were mandated to receive telephone wellness checks each day.

NYPD says that the hotel was under a contract with NYC Emergency Management to house individuals being released from city hospitals after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Other hotels across the city are already housing patients. A man being taken out of a Comfort Inn in Manhattan pictured April 15

NYPD says that the hotel was under a contract with NYC Emergency Management to house individuals being released from city hospitals after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Other hotels across the city are already housing patients. A man being taken out of a Comfort Inn in Manhattan pictured April 15

NYPD says that the hotel was under a contract with NYC Emergency Management to house individuals being released from city hospitals after testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Other hotels across the city are already housing patients. A man being taken out of a Comfort Inn in Manhattan pictured April 15

Medics seen taken a stretcher into a Holiday Inn Express hotel on April 15

Medics seen taken a stretcher into a Holiday Inn Express hotel on April 15

Medics seen taken a stretcher into a Holiday Inn Express hotel on April 15

If no one picked up the phone, hotel staff were directed to knock on their door. If their symptoms worsened they were returned to a hospital. 

New York is the epicenter of the virus in the US with over 248,000 cases and over 18,000 deaths as of Monday. 

More than 34,000 coronavirus patients are hospitalized in the city as of Sunday afternoon. 

Last week Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 11,000 city hotel rooms would be used to house coronavirus patients who needed to quarantine after testing positive and priority would be given to the elderly, homeless and healthcare workers. 

‘Anyone who needs that quarantine, who’s in a situation where they can’t properly socially distance from the people around them—they’re symptomatic or they have a test positive—if they want to be in one of the hotel rooms, it will be provided to them for free,’ De Blasio said Friday.   

The city and community health workers will identify potential participants and start moving people in on April 22.

Prior to these new measures, only patients who tested positive for the virus and don’t have a permanent address were allowed to stay in hotels in quarantine. 

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