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190 rail line workers positive for COVID in antigen test

Published Jan 5, 2022 11:53 am

A total of 190 personnel of Metro Manila's rail lines tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a mandatory antigen testing amid a renewed surge in the number of cases in the capital region.

(FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) conducted on Monday, Jan. 3, the first batch of antigen tests where 99 of the 696 personnel of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) tested positive.

For the Philippine National Railway (PNR), 91 are antigen positive out of the 354 personnel tested.

Rail line personnel who tested positive on the antigen test are set to undergo a confirmatory RT-PCR test, the DOTr added.

The Department also required those antigen positive, as well as their identified direct contacts, to go on quarantine "until re-tested and confirmed negative."

Meanwhile, the DOTr said that antigen testing and confirmatory RT-PCR testing will continue for the rest of the week until all personnel are tested.

The mandatory COVID-19 testing in the railway sector is part of the DOTr's safety measures to ensure that both the riding public and rail line personnel are protected against the virus.

The DOTr also earlier announced that it will conduct random antigen testing on consenting and volunteering passengers within the week to "gauge the level of COVID-19 presence in the rail lines."

Aside from testing, the DOTr added that train marshals will be deployed to optimize the enforcement of health protocols inside trains and in stations.

"The DOTr Railways Sector is assuring the public that needed measures, including the testing of all rail personnel for the coronavirus, are being taken to make sure that COVID-19 will not spread in our trains, stations, and depots," it said.

Related Tags

railway sector PNR metro rail transit line 3 MRT-3 arthur tugade Department of Transportation (DOTr) antigen test covid testing rail line Philippine National Railway
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