SMRT Bus Captain Tested Positive for COVID-19; Bus Has Since Been Disinfected

The scary thing about the coronavirus is that it could happen to anyone, anywhere.

Unless of course, you devote yourself to being a social recluse at home for the next 1 year or so.

But that’s impossible and impractical, so all we can do is take precautions.

SMRT Bus Captain Tested Positive for COVID-19; Bus Has Since Been Disinfected

An SMRT bus captain has tested positive for the COVID-19, according to the company.

SMRT announced on a media statement that the bus driver tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday.

However, before you panic, do note that the last day he worked was on Friday last week when he was “plying the Service 972” route.

He did not feel ill yet on Friday.

Lest you’re unaware, the service begins at Bukit Panjang bus interchange and travels through Orchard Road before returning to the interchange.

They also revealed that the driver’s rest day was on Saturday after the Friday shift.

Felt Unwell On Sunday

The SMRT bus driver had felt unwell on Sunday and saw a doctor that same day.

He made another visit to the same clinic two days later on Tuesday and that was when he was finally brought to the hospital.

“He is currently warded and in a stable condition,” SMRT said, adding that it is closely monitoring the driver’s condition and offering assistance to him and his family.

SMRT is also assisting the Ministry of Health in the contact tracing process.

Bus Has Been Disinfected

SMRT also assures the public that the bus has been disinfected, along with anything the driver had been in contact with.

“As a precautionary measure, we have advised our workforce to continue monitoring their health closely. The vehicles and premises where the driver had been in contact with have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.”

Mr Tan Kian Heong, president of SMRT Road Holdings, said: “We would like to assure commuters that all necessary precautions are being taken to safeguard the well-being of our commuters and staff.”

But that’s not all.

As of late, SMRT has already increased the frequency of its cleaning of high commuter touchpoints at its premises, facilities and vehicles since the end of January.

The Situation In Singapore

There was a total of 49 new cases in Singapore as of 2 April.

8 cases are imported cases who had travel history to Europe, North America, ASEAN and other parts of Asia.

The other 41 cases are locally transmitted, and 15 of them are currently unlinked.

26 of them are linked to previously confirmed cases or clusters, with 1 more linked to the cluster at Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home.

On top of that, there are three new clusters, one at Mustafa Centre, the second is a construction site at Maxwell MRT station and the last is at Keppel Shipyard.