COMET officials: DART bus driver in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19

The driver works for the Transportation Care Services

Columbia, SC (WOLO) –The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET)  says one of the DART drivers is in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The
COMET) announced that a driver of Transportation Care Services (TCS), which
operates DART and is a subcontractor of RATP Dev USA, Inc., has tested positive for
coronavirus during the routine mandatory testing of all employees.

The transit authority says the results were discovered after routine mandatory testing of all of their employees. Officials say as soon as they were notified of the the positive test results, the driver was sent home and passengers that may have come into contact with that driver were notified and urged to get tested.

The COMET says they have put some of the toughest cleaning and safety measures in effect during the pandemic including daily disinfection of their entire fleet, and facilities, and have made in mandatory for drivers and riders to wear face coverings.

Last month the bus company says they began installing barriers between the drivers and passengers to reduce the changes of exposure during transportation on their smaller vehicles to test them out. They are still waiting on bids from companies who specifically focus on making partitions for buses and vans.

COMET officials released a statement saying,

“The safety of our bus operators, our riders and the public is top of mind, especially during this pandemic,” said John Andoh, Executive Director/CEO of The COMET. “We are constantly exploring newer and better ways to ensure that we protect staff and passengers so that they can travel as safely as possible.”

They went on to say,

“We acted swiftly, responsibly and in good faith to minimize any possible exposure. We have implemented temperature stations in the administration lobby so that our drivers and staff are checked daily before their shift. Along with the daily sanitizing of our facilities, the mandatory mask requirements and other measures, we believe we have done our part to reduce the possibility of spread,” added Andoh. “Because we enforced masks and other safety measures, as well as limiting interactions with the drivers, the likelihood of exposure from the driver is minimal. We have contacted all individuals who were on the route in question within the past 14 days and encouraged them to self-isolate and get tested at their earliest convenience. We continue to disinfect daily and enforce strong safety measures for the health of our passengers, drivers and staff.”