Three COTA Employees Tests Positive for Coronavirus

COLUMBUS, Ohio — COTA has been informed that three transit vehicle operators have tested positive for COVID-19. One operator last drove a transit vehicle on June 28, and the two other operators last drove on June 30. All three practiced social distancing, underwent daily temperature screenings and wore a protective facial mask. The individuals began to display symptoms during their normal days off and tested positive for COVID-19. COTA is fully supporting these individuals and hoping for a successful recovery. This brings the total COVID cases at COTA to eight since the pandemic began.

Since early March, COTA has taken multiple steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus:

• May 3 – COTA began applying a microbial shield solution to all transit vehicle surfaces as an added layer of protection for customers and employees. This is in addition to COTA’s robust sanitization process for all vehicles.
• April 27 – COTA made changes to essential service to ease demands on frontline employees.
• April 16 – COTA doubled the cleaning/disinfecting of 118 transit shelters.
• April 15 – COTA required passengers to wear secure personal protection masks covering their faces.
• April 8 – COTA began distributing masks to all COTA employees.
• April 3 – COTA announced its Essential Travel Only Policy, for which buses are to be used by customers only for access to food, health care, travel to and from work, and caring for others.
• April 1 – COTA began mandatory temperature checks for all employees entering COTA facilities.
• March 19 – COTA suspended fares and instructed to board buses from the rear doors to keep separated from drivers.
• March 16 – COTA’s initial service changes reduced the number of bus routes and consolidated service in some areas.
• March 1 – COTA implemented the Stop the Spread Campaign, which provided tips on how to prevent the spread of infectious disease.
• COTA limits the number of riders on each bus to 20 and continues to ask riders to observe social distancing.
• All buses are sanitized multiple times daily, and COTA also cleans those buses every 12 hours with sanitizing solutions approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• All COTA vehicles are equipped with hand sanitizing dispensers, stocked daily and located at the front of the vehicle.