The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) depot in Quezon City has been placed under “enhanced access control” since last week after 42 employees tested positive for COVID-19, with one confirmed fatality.
Thirty-six of the 42 affected employees are office personnel, while six are maintenance workers of Sumitomo-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the MRT-3 conducted contact tracing and mass swab testing among its employees following its first reported case of COVID-19 among the depot office personnel, which later yielded 33 positive cases on January 20.
The additional three positive cases have been confirmed Monday, January 27.
All personnel who have tested positive are already in quarantine.
“It is also with great sadness that we confirm that one of our fellow public servants in the MRT-3 Depot who got infected by COVID-19 passed away earlier this week,” the DOTr said in a statement released late Wednesday evening.
But the Departement assured the public that it is still safe to ride the MRT and operations will continue with the observance of health and safety protocols in all stations.