by Franco Luna (Philstar.com) – 7 Apr 2021
MANILA, Philippines — Compounding an already precarious public transport system amid the Enhanced Community Quarantine, hundreds of railway workers under the transportation department have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in recent days, the department disclosed.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation said that, as of Tuesday evening, exactly 522 new coronavirus cases have been recorded among the rail sector personnel.
Of the 860 personnel of the MRT-3 who underwent swab tests, 131 have tested positive for the virus.
For the PNR, 1,013 personnel underwent swab test and 131 have tested positive.
The LRT-1 also reported that of the 377 personnel who were tested, 117 personnel tested positive for the COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 571 LRT-2 employees had been tested and 143 personnel were found to be positive of COVID-19
According to the statement, the increases across all rail lines prompted department leadership to order mass testing of all personnel in the sector.
From the 3,284 total number of MRT-3 personnel, more employees are scheduled to undergo the RT-PCR test.
From the 1,729 total number of PNR personnel, more employees are still to be tested.
More LRT-1 personnel from the total number of 1,185 will still be tested.
The rail operator said more personnel from its 1,277 total workforce will still have to undergo swab tests.
Transport officials earlier acknowledged the bite from the lack of human resources, which they said severely affect capacity.
As of this post, the MRT-3 line is fielding 14 train sets while the LRT-1 line is dispatching 17 trains and the LRT-2 line is operating with just five. Operations along the PNR remain suspended until Thursday. —
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