Metro spends another $3M on COVID tests

Transit officials will spend more than $3 million to keep COVID protocols for workers, contractors and visitors in place, likely until mid-2022.

The administration committee of the Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved the spending Thursday, setting aside $1 million to perform temperature checks at Metro facilities and $2 million for testing employees and contractors who decline to receive the vaccine. Temperature checks will continue until Sept. 30, 2022 under the contract, while COVID testing is paid for through March 2022.

Transit officials, citing federal policies, state laws and labor agreements with unionized workers, said they cannot require vaccines, but can compel those who choose not to get inoculated to submit to weekly tests. Metro is covering the cost of the testing, and offering testing at its garages, or through health centers around the area.

The agency also is offering eight hours of pay for workers who get a full course of the vaccine.

With the delta variant, positive COVID cases among Metro staff are increasing. From April 1 to July 31, Metro reported 97 cases. In August, 131 new cases were reported.

“We are hoping they go down for September,” said Karen Kauffman, chief human resources officer for the agency. “They are remaining steady now, but with more people getting the vaccine we are hoping for a decrease.”

Even if they cannot require vaccines, officials said they can encourage and make receiving them as simple for workers as possible.

“Personally, I think getting everybody vaccinated is the ultimate answer to bringing this under control,” Metro board member Jim Robinson said.

The costs come as Metro’s ridership continues to be about half that of pre-pandemic levels.