The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will strictly enforce health protocols onboard trains as well as in the various rail facilities such as stations and depots.
This, after the National Capital Region (NCR) was placed under stricter Alert Level 3 status amid the rise in Covid-19 cases.
DOTr Secretary Art Tugade said the enforcement of strict health measures to mitigate the spread of the virus will continue to be in place, even more as the present 70 percent passenger capacity in all rail lines will be maintained.
Tugade said any adjustments or changes in the passenger capacity of rail lines, as well as in other modes of public transportation, will be subject to the guidance of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
DOTr Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan said the random antigen testing will help the DOTr gauge the level of Covid-19 presence in the rail lines.
Aside from the random antigen testing of passengers, the use of train marshals will be optimized to enforce health protocols inside trains and in stations.
Tugade also ordered the regular disinfection of trains, platforms, stations and depots, saying contact tracing measures should be continued.
Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of all rail facilities, the DOTr has required all rail personnel to undergo antigen testing, pursuant to prevailing protocols of the Department of Health.
Physical reporting in offices of rail lines personnel will be limited to 60 percent, further to Alert Level 3 guidelines, which prescribe at least 30 percent.(PNA)
