A South Shore Bus Driver Has Tested Positive For COVID-19
- A bus driver for the RTL in Vieux-Longueuil has tested positive for COVID-19.
- Public health officials will contact employees who came in contact with this individual.
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The Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL) has reported that one of its bus drivers has tested positive for COVID-19. Though the RTL has not released their route, it does specify that they worked in Vieux-Longueuil. "Their last day of work was March 15 and they were subsequently placed in isolation by the RTL health unit," a statement on the public transit company's website states.
"The RTL worked closely with the Direction de la santé publique (DSP) to identify employees who had been in contact with this person."
The DSP "will contact these employees in order to take the appropriate action" and "the RTL will be informed if it needs to put forward measures concerning them."
The RTL recommends that any passenger experiencing symptoms call 1-877-644-4545, the provincial COVID-19 hotline.
"We also remind you that the coronavirus only survives on dry surfaces for three hours and that we have optimized the cleaning of the most exposed surfaces of our buses."
In addition to regular cleanings, the RTL previously announced restrictions on its services to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on its network.
Despite a ban on almost all gatherings, the Government of Quebec has labelled transit an essential service in the province and has committed to keeping it operational in part so that healthcare professionals can get to work.
En cette Journée de reconnaissance des chauffeuses et des chauffeurs du transport collectif, nous tenons à souligne… https://t.co/kdmrYVnWpr— RTL_Longueuil (@RTL_Longueuil) 1584547212.0
There have been other documented cases of possible coronavirus exposure on Montreal area public transit, including on an RTL bus and the yellow and orange metro lines.
But the Government of Quebec has retracted its list of public places visited by people who tested positive for COVID-19.
Montreal public health authorities, meanwhile, have confirmed community spread of the virus in the city.
[COVID-19] De nouvelles mesures ont été mises en place pour notre service de transport adapté afin de prévenir la c… https://t.co/tuuJf6FpxW— RTL_Longueuil (@RTL_Longueuil) 1584307034.0
"Several family clusters and chains of transmission have been documented. In several cases, the investigation was unable to identify a source of exposure," the Direction régionale de la santé publique wrote in a statement.
Et n'oubliez pas : Les jours meilleurs vont revenir! #cavabienaller 🌈 https://t.co/x0f4kZn3nw— François Legault (@François Legault) 1585082781.0
"Therefore, there is a community transmission of SARS-CoV-2," the virus that causes COVID-19, in Montreal.
Quebec health officials released guidelines for individuals to follow to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the province. You can read about them here.
