Ticket sellers among infected MRT-3 staff

File Photo
File Photo

TICKET sellers in four Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) stations are among the 198 personnel who have contracted the novel coronavirus.

They are assigned at the North Avenue, Quezon Avenue, GMA-Kamuning and Cubao stations. One is on reserved status.

They reported for the following shifts: 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the North Avenue station; 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Quezon Avenue station; 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at GMA-Kamuning; and 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Cubao station.

“Passengers who had direct contact with the infected personnel are advised to thoroughly observe their condition and undergo home quarantine to prevent the further transmission of the virus,” the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement Tuesday, July 7, 2020.

The ticket sellers are among the 16 station personnel, including a nurse, who tested positive for Sars-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

A total of 198 MRT-3 personnel have been found positive for the virus.

Aside from the 16 station personnel, 177 depot personnel, three train drivers and two control center staff were also found positive.

MRT-3 operations are suspended from July 6 to 11, 2020 because of the clustering of Covid-19 cases in its depot and stations. The suspension will allow RT-PCR testing of employees and disinfection of facilities.

MRT-3 operations may, however, resume before July 11, 2020 once the required number of personnel to run the trains are cleared, DoTr Undersecretary Timothy John Bathan said.

“Ang resumption of operations po natin sa MRT ay nitong darating na Linggo, limang araw po iyong hiningi natin na suspension of operations, ngunit maaari pong mag resume tayo ng operations earlier base na po doon sa bilis ng resulta doon sa ginagawa nating RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) swab testing sa lahat po ng empleyado ng MRT 3,” Bathan said in a televised briefing.

“Kapag naabot po natin ‘yung minimum required na number of personnel para mag resume ng operations sa MRT-3, tayo po ay mag reresume ng operations,” he added.

He said those found positive have been sent to quarantine facilities.

Bathan said that the DOTr is working closely with the Department of Health (DOH) to successfully implement contact tracing among MRT-3 employees.

“Sa kasalukuyan ang ginagawa natin ay nakikipag ugnayan tayo sa DOH kung ano iyong mga pamamaraan kung paano tayo mag m move forward sa contact tracing,” he said. (Jove Moya/SunStar Philippines with PR)

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