Six NJ Transit Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus

MILLBURN, NJ — A NJ Transit spokeswoman confirmed on Monday that six employees of the agency had tested positive for coronavirus, including two who are "frontline employees" who deal directly with the public.

Nancy Snyder, a spokeswoman for the public transit agency, said those two workers are in jobs such as driving buses or working in stations. However, citing confidentiality laws, she would not identify them further.

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Snyder also declined t0 answer followup questions about how the agency would handle the situation.

The agency noted on its website that starting Monday, some of its routes were operating on a holiday schedule, including all trains. Ridership is down following state and local officials' directives for residents to stay inside to slow the spread of coronavirus.

In a March 13 release, the transit agency said, "NJ TRANSIT has enhanced its cleaning efforts to include disinfecting vehicles every 24 hours. Hard surface cleaning and disinfecting typically includes handholds, arm rests, seating areas and restrooms. Our enhanced cleaning regimen in stations includes additional disinfecting of frequent customer touchpoints such as ticket vending machines, handrails, door handles. In major stations and terminals, this occurs once every shift."

The agency also announced a webpage updating the agency's cleaning efforts and answering frequently asked questions.

The state of New Jersey reported on Monday a huge jump in confirmed coronavirus cases over the weekend, saying there were a total of 2,844 cases and 27 deaths.

Officials say they are opening more testing sites and hoping to get more tests. New testing centers are opening almost daily, but a new center at the PNC Arts Center had to close by 10 a.m. Monday because of the demand. It was set to reopen Tuesday.

For questions about the coronavirus test, the state has set up hotlines here, and you can also call 211 with questions. You can also start with your doctor.

If you need immediate help, call 911.

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu. More than 15,000 people have died worldwide.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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