Another city bus driver tests positive for COVID-19
Another TheBus driver has tested positive for the coronavirus, city officials announced over the weekend.
Oahu Transit Services, which operates TheBus and TheHandi-Van said on Saturday, TheBus operator confirmed that they had tested positive for COVID-19 and was immediately placed on leave.
The operator’s last day of work was on Thursday, offiials said, and they had no symptoms and no close contact with other employees or riders. Vehicles driven by the operator were also disinfected on the same day they were driven.
This was the 17th TheBus driver to test positive for the coronavirus, according to an OTS spokesman, although some were on leave and did not have exposure to the public at the time.
TheBus officials say they have taken steps to reduce the risk of infection while riding or operating a transit vehicle.
Those steps include installing plastic curtains on all buses to provide a barrier between drivers and passengers as they board; adding extra buses on busy routes to provide more space for physical distancing; wiping down all touch surfaces on buses and vans with disinfectant daily; and electrostatic spraying of the vehicles nightly. Also, all OTS employees undergo temperature checks daily.
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Officials continue to remind the public that only essential trips should be taken on public transit, and that wearing a face covering is mandatory while entering and riding TheBus and TheHandi-Van.
The driver’s last day of work was on Thursday, Nov. 5, with the following routes and times:
>> Route 40, 6:44-8:48 a.m., Makaha to Ala Moana, Bus No. 849
>> Route E, 9:27-10:59 a.m., Monsarrat to Fort Weaver, But No. 849
>> Route 71, 3:12-6:08 p.m., Pearlridge to Newtown, Bus No. 64
