6th Port Authority employee tests positive for covid-19; West Mifflin garage closed for ‘deep clean’ | TribLIVE.com
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6th Port Authority employee tests positive for covid-19; West Mifflin garage closed for ‘deep clean’

Natasha Lindstrom
| Saturday, April 18, 2020 3:13 p.m.
Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review
A Port Authority bus on April 18, 2020.

A Port Authority of Allegheny County maintenance worker has tested positive for covid-19, marking the second employee at the West Mifflin garage to contract the disease in two days, officials said Saturday.

The latest employee to learn of the positive test result last worked on Monday, Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said. Another employee of the same garage tested positive on Friday, and last worked on April 10.

Both are quarantining at home on paid leave.

The pair of new cases prompted officials to close the garage over the weekend and bring in an outside contractor to do a “deep clean of the entire facility,” Brandolph said.

Transit service to the public will not be impacted.

Earlier this month, two bus drivers who work out of the same West Mifflin garage tested positive for covid-19.

A total of six Port Authority employees have tested positive for the coronavirus disease since March 26, including another driver who works out of the East Liberty garage.

Test results were pending Saturday afternoon for 59 additional Port Authority employees, Brandolph said.

Starting Monday, visitors to Port Authority’s service center in Downtown Pittsburgh will be required to wear masks, in line with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order mandating masks to enter any of the essential businesses allowed to operate during the pandemic-spurred shutdown.

Wolf’s mask order does not extend to public transit, but Port Authority officials “highly encourage” all riders to wear masks or face coverings such as scarves or bandanas, Brandolph said.

If possible, riders are encouraged to travel between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when buses tend to be the least crowded.

“Above all, stay home,” Brandolph said. “We need those seats to be save for riders on essential trips and essential employees.”

The agency has been disinfecting vehicles and common work areas daily since March 14 to protect both customers and employees.

Most riders now must board from the rear doors of buses as an additional layer of protection.

Port Authority has more than 2,600 employees, including 1,300 operators and 800 mechanics.


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