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More RTA employees test positive for COVID-19; officers find symptomatic man sleeping at station

Posted at 4:46 PM, Apr 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-05 16:46:44-04

CLEVELAND — Just two days after announcing that an operator had tested positive for COVID-19, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority confirmed three additional employees have also tested positive for the virus.

Two of the employees are married and are self-quarantining at home, according to RTA.

One of the married employees began to display symptoms on March 23 and last worked on March 20. That employee’s spouse was asymptomatic and showed up for work on March 23, but was instructed by RTA to go home and begin self-quarantine. On April 1, the spouse also began displaying symptoms, according to RTA.

The third employee is a Transit Police Dispatcher who also tested positive for COVID-19. That employee’s last day in the office was Tuesday, March 31.

After learning about the dispatcher’s positive COVID-19 test, the RTA’s Integrated Communication Center was closed and the staff was relocated to allow the center to be disinfected, the RTA said.

The RTA reported that as of Sunday, four of its employees have tested positive.

RELATED: RTA operator tests positive for COVID-19

Early Sunday morning the RTA shut down the West 65th Street Red Line Rapid Station for disinfection after RTA police officers found a symptomatic man sleeping in the station.

Around 8 a.m., RTA officers responded to the station, found the man and noticed he was having difficulty breathing, had a possible fever and had other flu-like symptoms, RTA said.

The man was transported to MetroHealth Hospital, according to RTA.

After reviewing surveillance video, RTA confirmed the man did not use any RTA services and only accessed the station from the street.

The station was shut down for disinfection but has since reopened, RTA said.

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