GoBus fleet returns to service weeks after employees test positive for coronavirus
St. John's-area para-transit service was interrupted in late March
GoBus has resumed service with its regular vehicles weeks after employees at the company tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
The first employee of the St. John's-area para-transit service to test positive was contacted by N.L. public health officers March 22 and began self-isolation. The employee told the company about the diagnosis March 25, according to a company spokesperson.
Days later, that same spokesperson confirmed a second employee had also tested positive for the virus.
Local taxi drivers who were already contracted and trained to provide the service had been shuttling riders using the same phone numbers and websites for customer service and trip planning.
The spokesperson confirmed 54 GoBus employees were under quarantine at that time. Neither employee who tested positive was a driver, said company spokesperson Jeff Womack at the time, but both of them would have had contact with drivers.
"We really have a small facility there, so that's why out of an abundance of caution we put everybody on quarantine because regardless of their role they all come in contact with each other there," said Womack in late March.
CBC News is trying to reach Womack for an update. Metrobus's Judy Powell told CBC that GoBus resumed service on Monday.
Clarifications
- A prior version of this story did not include the fact that taxis had been providing service to GoBus clients, while the company's regular buses were not being used.Apr 16, 2020 2:55 PM NT