MRT3 active COVID-19 cases down to 21

Twenty-one of the 58 COVID-19 infections reported among Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) employees are still active cases, the railway system’s management said Thursday.

“A total of 58 positive cases were recorded, but as of today 21 na lang ang active cases,” the management said.

“Some of those who tested negative last week, have [already] reported to work this week,” it said.

Late last month, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) placed the MRT3 Depot under “enhanced access control” as 42 personnel were initially reported to have contracted COVID-19. 

Operations of the railway line, however, were unaffected since the cases were limited to the MRT3 Depot. 

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, in late January, also said that MRT3 General Manager Rodolfo Garcia contracted COVID-19 and had been admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital.

On Wednesday night, the DOTr announced that Garcia, a retired general, had passed away.

Last month, the DOTr confirmed that an employee at the MRT3 Depot had succumbed to COVID-19. 

As a safety measure, the MRT3 depot shifted to a work-from-home arrangement, with only a limited number of essential office personnel reporting physically to the depot, and only after obtaining a negative RT-PCR swab test result.

With COVID-19 cases being reported almost entirely at the depot, MRT3 operations continue, with the continuing observance by stations personnel of health and safety procedures intended to address the risk of transmission among the riding public.

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. — BM, GMA News