Bus Operators Among Latest COVID-19 Cases

Release Date: Oct. 20, 2021
Media Hot Line: 713.739.4040

METRO has received confirmation two bus operators, a light rail operator, an officer in the METRO Police Department and two employees in the Operations Department have tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the total number of cases to 828 METRO employees and 162 contractors since March 2020.

Three hundred ninety-seven of the employees had no contact with the public. METRO tracks and reports all positive cases among its 4000 employees and the various contractors who provide services to METRO. We are also conducting temperature checks of employees and others before they begin their workday at METRO facilities or on our vehicles.

The first bus operator last worked Sept. 8 and in the two weeks prior, drove the following routes:

The second bus operator last worked Oct. 18 and in the two weeks prior, drove the following route:

The light rail operator last worked Oct. 18 and in the two weeks prior, was assigned to the following route:

*The charts above reflect the days the employees were on duty two weeks prior to their last days on the job.

The MPD officer is assigned to the light rail division and two weeks prior to testing positive was on duty Oct. 4, 6, 8, 10-14 and 17-18.

The two Operations employees had no contact with the public.

Anyone who comes in contact with an individual who tests positive should monitor themselves for possible symptoms, contact your health care provider as soon as you develop any symptoms, and self-isolate to avoid possibly exposing others, including refraining from using public transportation.

METRO is working with public health officials so they can identify and notify anyone who traveled the routes driven by the operators during those time frames as well as anyone else who may have been impacted by the latest positive cases.

Federal law now requires anyone on the METRO system to wear a face mask. This includes rail stations, transit centers and bus stops. Plastic face shields are not considered masks. Exemptions are available for children under the age of two, a person with a disability who cannot wear a mask or wear one safely because of a disability defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Since mid-March 2020, METRO has sought to minimize the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission by operators or passengers by encouraging social distancing, placing plastic barriers between operators and passengers, providing access to hand sanitizer while on board our system and requiring masks.

However, with recent changes announced by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and an increase in the number of individuals being vaccinated resulting in more employees returning to work, METRO will no longer call for only essential trips being made on METRO and will now allow full capacity on all bus and rail vehicles.

We appreciate and greatly value our riders and thank them for their assistance as we have continued to offer service throughout this pandemic. We have taken many actions, including working with the community at large, to "flatten the curve" of COVID-19.

METRO's number one priority will continue to be protecting the health and safety of our customers, community and employees.

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