A Metrolinx employee who works at the public transit agency’s East Gwillimbury garage is the 11th to test positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson confirmed in a Sept. 2 statement.
It is the first positive case in nearly two months among the agency’s 4,300 workers.
“All indications are that our employee contracted the virus from outside the work location,” Metrolinx senior media manager Anne Marie Aikins said. “They are now recovering at home and are receiving support from Metrolinx officials and fellow employees.”
Most staff are health screened before entering the workplace and the employee was screened out and has not been at work since Aug. 29, Aikins said.
“While at work, all employees wear proper PPE such as face coverings and face shields, as well as gloves, keep a safe distance from staff and customers, and maintain proper disinfection procedures,” Aikins added. “Although the risk to customers is extremely low, we are informing the public out of an abundance of caution.”
It is mandatory for all Metrolinx employees and customers to wear face coverings to protect those around them and that has helped keep its positive cases low during the pandemic, Aikins said.
Early on in the pandemic, before everyone was being tested, four other Metrolinx workers were considered probable cases, she added.
