Sacramento RT bus driver first of its front-line employees to contract coronavirus
The Sacramento Regional Transit District announced Monday that one of its bus drivers has tested positive for COVID-19, the first confirmed case of one of its front-line employees contracting the infectious respiratory disease.
The bus driver did wear a mask while on duty, and the driver’s temperature was checked before the start of each work shift, RT officials said in a news release.
All RT employees are required to participate in these precautionary measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. RT officials said all buses are sanitized daily.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” RT officials released the routes the bus driver worked, from July 1 through 7, before feeling ill and self-isolating until getting tested for COVID-19 on July 8, according to the news release. RT learned of the bus driver’s diagnosis Sunday evening and received written confirmation Monday. On Tuesday, RT officials revised the routes and times the driver worked.
| Date | Route | Time | Bus No. |
| July 1 | 38 | 6:21 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. | 1522 |
| July 1 | 1 | 1 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 2880 |
| July 2 | 38 | 6:21 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. | 1592 |
| July 2 | 1 | 1 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 2868 |
| July 3 | 38 | 6:21 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. | 1527 |
| July 3 | 1 | 1 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 1553 |
| July 6 | 38 | 6:21 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. | 1516 |
| July 6 | 1 | 1 p.m.. to 5:05 p.m. | 2858 |
| July 7 | 38 | 6:21 a.m. to 9:55 a.m. | 2885 |
| July 7 | 1 | 1 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. | 2865 |
Since the Gov. Gavin Newsom on March 19 ordered the statewide shutdown to slow the coronavirus, the bus driver was RT’s first-known case of one of its front-line employees testing positive for COVID-19. Front-line RT employees are those workers who interact with customers or riders.
Devra Selenis, an RT spokeswoman, said Monday that one of its light-rail service worker has tested positive for COVID-19. That worker is an essential RT employee who does not have any contact with customers or riders while on duty.
Selenis said RT learned of the service worker’s diagnosis July 6. That employee was self-isolating at home like the bus driver. She said the driver and the service worker are the only confirmed COVID-19 cases among RT employees.
RT policy dictates that any employee diagnosed with COVID-19 must stay home and self-isolate in compliance with public health recommendations, according to the news release. Those employees must provide a release to work notice from a healthcare provider before returning to work.
“SacRT has already taken a number of meticulous steps to lower the risk of employees and customers contracting COVID-19, which we believe is the reason that we have not had any front-line employees contract the virus until now,” RT officials said in the news release.
Some of RT’s coronavirus safety precautions:
- Fogging and disinfecting buses, light rail trains and facilities.
- Cleaning and sanitizing all touch points.
- Blocking off seats in buses and light rail trains to provide physical distancing.
- Installing protective Plexiglass barriers on each bus by the driver’s seat to reduce exposure when boarding.
- Requiring all employees and riders to wear a face covering or mask.
- Providing employees with personal protective equipment, such as hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, disposable gloves, masks and safety glasses.
- Distributing masks to those riders who do not have them.
- Reminding riders to maintain social distancing at stations or stops and onboard vehicles.
- Urging riders to download ZipPass the free mobile fare app to reduce touch points.
- Increasing or restoring service levels to minimize the risk of crowding.
- Temperature check all employees and contractors as they enter the workplace.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
