94 more railway workers get COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — Ninety-four more railway personnel tested positive for COVID-19 amid the ongoing mass testing of employees of Metro Manila’s four rail lines, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said yesterday.

The figure brings the total number of COVID-positive rail personnel to 630 last Thursday, up from 536 the previous day, the DOTr said. The mass testing started on March 29.

With 206 confirmed cases, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 has the most number of personnel infected with COVID-19. The DOTr said 887 of the 3,284 MRT-3 personnel underwent RT-PCR tests.

The Philippine National Railways (PNR) reported the second highest number of confirmed cases with 157 after testing 1,239 of 1,829 employees.

Among the 1,277 total number of personnel of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), 144 out of 571 workers who were tested contracted COVID-19.

The LRT-1 has the fewest number of infected employees with 123 cases, and 563 out of the 1,185-strong workforce have been tested.

Meanwhile, the PNR announced it would resume train trips tomorrow, the DOTr said.

Employees who tested negative for COVID-19 should undergo antigen testing before reporting back to work, the PNR said.