More MRT-3 workers get virus

MANILA, Philippines — The number of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) employees infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 has climbed to 202.

Of the number, 181 are maintenance workers, 16 are station personnel, including ticket sellers assigned at the North Avenue, Cubao and GMA Kamuning stations, according to the MRT-3 management.

Earlier, presidential spokesman Harry Roque urged commuters who possibly had contact with the ticket sellers to undergo isolation or testing for COVID-19.

The rail line’s operations remain suspended until Saturday.

The Department of Health (DOH) admitted that it is not easy to trace the passengers who had contact with the virus-infected ticket sellers.

In an interview with “The Chiefs” on One News TV 5, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said it is a challenge to track down the contacts of the MRT-3 personnel with COVID-19.

“It is really a challenge for us. But I would like to inform everybody that the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) is now speaheading the conduct of contact tracing,” Vergeire said.

She said contact tracing may no longer work if the transmission is already widespread.

The MRT-3 management has identified the shifts and stations of its employees who tested positive for the virus so the commuters could undergo self-quarantine.