Metro has confirmed to News4 that one of its bus drivers has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Metrobus operator is based out of the Bladensburg Bus Division. Metro says professional contractors cleaned and disinfected the buses in that division of the system overnight. The division reopened without restrictions this morning.
Metro says that according to the D.C. Department of Health, the operator had no close contact with other people.
Metrobus reduced service down to 20 routes on Saturday.
Metro says the change was not related to the confirmed case. “It's about availability based on manpower requirements where people are separated for protection," a spokesperson for Metro told News4.
“With regard to customer contact, every one of Metro‘s buses is equipped with a protective shield that separates the driver from customers with a clear physical barrier," the spokesperson said. "While there are gaps around the edges, it goes along way toward protecting the operator from the most common form of person to person transmission: droplets.”
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The Washington Post was first to report the bus operator tested positive for the virus.
