MRT depot workers to undergo rapid tests after 15 found positive for COVID-19
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Thursday that all depot personnel of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) are set to undergo a rapid antibody testing after 15 workers of the rail line’s maintenance provider tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“As a precautionary measure, all MRT-3 and SumitomoMHI-TESPI depot personnel will undergo rapid testing to be conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard,” MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael Capati said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Capati, those who will test positive in the rapid test will be required to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and to go on self-quarantine while waiting for the results of the confirmatory test.
“The health and safety of our employees and passengers are primordial to us. All employees will be required to undergo testing. We have been conducting disinfection in the depot, at stations, and in trains. We will continue to implement these and other measures to contain the spread of the virus in our workplace, stations, and trains,” Capati emphasized.
He said that the MRT-3 management will implement additional health and safety protocols to further limit the interaction between the depot and station personnel, noting that there is very limited interaction between maintenance staff at the depot and those at stations.
Maintenance provider Sumitomo-MHI-TESPI reported last week that one of its depot personnel was tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing an RT-PCR test.
A contact tracing was conducted and it was discovered that 14 out of the affected worker’s 32 contacts contracted the disease.
“Contact tracing is ongoing for the 14 COVID-19 positive depot personnel. Identified contacts have been advised to undergo self-quarantine and RTPCR testing before going back to work at the MRT-3 depot,” the MRT-3 official added.
The management also assured that it continued to implement other health and safety measures pursuant to guidelines of health authorities such as screening for symptoms for every entry in the rail line’s facilities, mandatory wearing of face masks, alternative work arrangements to reduce the number of people in the workplace, regular disinfection of facilities, setting up of sanitation stations, hygiene promotion, and physical distancing at the workplace.
All railway systems in the capital region have been allowed to resume its operations at limited capacity following its transition to general community quarantine on June 1, after the over two months of hard lockdown.