285 PNR personnel positive for COVID-19 in antigen test, 58 of them 'passenger-facing' —spox

Close to 300 personnel of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) have tested positive for COVID-19 through antigen test and are now in isolation, an official said Monday.

"Yung ating huling bilang na 261, ngayon po ay 285 na at continuing po ang ating testing lalo na sa passenger-facing employees," Atty. Celeste Lauta, PNR spokesperson, said on Dobol B TV.

(From our last count of 261, the number has increased to 285 as testing continues especially on our passenger-facing employees.)

Lauta said of the 285 personnel who tested positive for COVID-19, 58 were "passenger-facing" or those with exposure to passengers.

"Karamihan naman po ay non-passenger facing (most are not passenger-facing)," she said, adding that the PNR still has enough personnel to operate.

PNR has more or less 1,700 personnel, including those from service providers, Lauta said.

Laute assured PNR passengers that each train is properly disinfected after each trip.

"Bago siya bumalik sa susunod niyang biyahe, disinfected na po iyon (Before its next trip, the train has been disinfected)," the official said.

Aside from this, strict health protocols are being strictly observed inside trains. So far, there is still no policy making the wearing of face shields mandatory for passengers, Laute said.

"Kaya tayo nagka-conduct ng random testing sa ating mga pasahero ay para makita natin yung data or yung sample namin kung meron nang mga positibo sa aming mga mananakay," she said.

(The reason we conduct random testing on our passengers is for us to come up with data or sample if there are really COVID-positive persons among them.)

The random testing started last Friday and would continue this week, she added.

"Yun ang magde-determine kung ano ang magiging rekomendasyon natin sa Department of Transportation kung ibabalik ang pagsuot ng face shield," Laute said.

(That will determine our recommendation to the Department of Transportation regarding the mandatory wearing of face shields.)

A "24 Oras" report last Friday said several PNR passengers tested positive for COVID-19 in a random antigen test. The passengers tested positive were taken to a holding area while coordinating with their respective local government units.

Laute, during the Dobol B TV interview, said of the 13 passengers tested last Friday afternoon, five were positive. There was no random antigen testing during the weekend.

Laute said PNR averages 16,000 daily passengers during the pandemic — down from the 60,000 daily average during pre-pandemic days. —KBK, GMA News