787 railway personnel have Covid-19

By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz, 13 Apr 2021

MANILA – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) reported that 787 personnel in the four rail lines in Metro Manila have so far tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), based on data collected on Monday.

In a status report released Tuesday, the DOTr said the positivity rate is 16.22 percent from the 4,852 tested from Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), and Philippine National Railways (PNR).

To date, 3,390 or 41.13 percent of the four railway services’ 8,242 workers have yet to be tested.

At LRT-1 (1,185 workers), a total of 120 out of 794 were found to be infected, while at LRT-2 (1,944 workers), 251 out of 1,870 turned out positive with the virus.

MRT-3 had tested 936 out of 3,284, with 208 yielding positive results.

PNR also has 208 infected workers out of the 1,252 tested.

To control the spread of the disease, all railway workers who test positive, still awaiting results of their test, identified as close contacts of confirmed cases, and those showing symptoms of Covid-19 are required to be isolated and quarantined.

The limited number of workers had resulted in limited operations.

“Following the resumption of operations on 05 April 2021, the MRT-3 is running under limited capacity, with the deployment of 10 to 12 trains, while the LRT-2 line dispatched five (5) trains, and the LRT-1 has deployed 17 trains,” the DOTr said in a statement.

PNR resumed operations on Monday after mass testing and re-integration procedures, with 10 to 12 trains deployed.

“To assist commuters and augment the rail line’s limited operations, DOTr deployed additional public utility vehicles along the rail line routes,” the DOTr added.

Free transportation services are also available for health workers and other authorized persons outside of residence through the DOTr’s Free Ride for Health Workers program and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s Service Contracting Program. (PNA)