MRT-3 security personnel wearing full-body personal protective equipment (Photo courtesy of MRT-3)
MANILA – A total of 36 office personnel working at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3’s (MRT-3) depot near its North Avenue Station have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In a statement on Thursday, the MRT-3 said this comes after three more workers tested positive on Wednesday after mandatory reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests were administered to all MRT-3 depot personnel, adding to the 33 positive cases as of January 20.
“All personnel who have tested positive are already in quarantine,” the MRT-3 said.
This, aside from six positive cases among workers of MRT-3’s maintenance provider Sumitomo–Mitsubishi Heavy Industries while none have so far been infected among the MRT-3’s station personnel.
To address the increased number of infections, the MRT-3 shifted to a work-from-home arrangement for its MRT-3 depot office personnel since last week, with only a handful of personnel still reporting at the depot and subjected to health screening prior to entry.
Despite the “enhanced access control” implemented at the MRT-3 depot, it said train operations would continue with station personnel continuing to implement health and safety protocols to address the risk of transmission among passengers.
“These measures include enforcement of limited capacity in trains, wearing of full personal protective equipment (PPE) by stations personnel, health screening of entering passengers and stations personnel, regular disinfection of trains and facilities, placement of disinfection stations, deployment of transport marshals to ensure observance of health and safety measures, and constant reminders and enforcement of the ‘seven commandments,” the MRT-3 said.
These “seven commandments” include the mandatory wearing of face masks and shields, no talking, no eating, keeping public vehicles well-ventilated, frequent disinfection, barring symptomatic individuals, and appropriate physical distancing. (PNA)
