Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) employee tests positive for COVID-19

Hamilton, ON – Due to the nature of the employee’s position working closely with the public, the City of Hamilton is advising that it has been notified that one of its Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) bus operators has tested positive for COVID-19.

The employee notified the City over the weekend after testing positive. The operator and any others they may have come in contact with are currently self-isolating at home. The operator is at home recovering and the City extends its best wishes to the employee and hopes for a speedy recovery. Everyone involved has been very helpful in sharing information which has helped the City respond quickly and thoroughly.

The employee last worked on Route #5 Delaware Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9, 2020.

Public Health advises there is low risk to the public, however the City decided to advise the public out of an abundance of caution.

Any contact tracing that is required is managed by the Public Health Unit in the person's home community where they reside, and that Public Health Unit would be directly contacting anyone who would be part of the tracing for this case. Given that HSR does not collect contact information for its riders, the City also wanted to immediately inform the public via the media and social media to ensure broad awareness in the community.

As a result of the COVID-19 precautions in place, there has been no impact to HSR operations. HSR remains committed to the health and safety of its employees and customers.

To ensure the ongoing safety of using public transit as service levels increase, HSR continues to implement the following health measures:

• Installation of driver compartment bio-shields
• Performing daily additional cleaning and enhanced sanitizing of high-touch surfaces
• In addition to its standard cleaning, the entire fleet received a disinfectant wipe down of all hard surfaces and an antimicrobial spraying
• Increased supply of sanitizing products for use by our operators
• Implementing improved touchless PRESTO fare payment technology fleet-wide
• Adhering to the City’s By-law 20-155 requiring that all customers (with some exceptions) wear a face covering or mask while traveling on transit and waiting in a bus shelter, as it provides protection where physical distancing is difficult to maintain
• Availability of a free disposable mask at HSR’s Hunter St. Ticket Office (36 Hunter St.) and Municipal Service Centres that sell HSR fare media for customers who need to obtain a mask to ride the bus

All City employees and the public must complete COVID-19 screening prior to entering a City facility and are to follow any advice the screening provides. City staff and the public are also reminded to keep a two metre (6ft.) distance between yourself and others who are outside of your “social circle”, wear a non-medical face mask, stay home if you are sick or are showing signs of being sick, and wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly, and refrain from touching your face.

For more information about protecting yourself from COVID-19, visit www.hamilton.ca/coronavirus.