(Eagle News)–The Metro Rail Transit 3 will resume limited operations on Monday, July 13.
In a statement, the MRT-3 said this was after it after the line’s management was able to assemble a sufficient number of employees who have not been infected by the COVID-19 virus.
So far, 281 MRT-3 personnel have tested positive for the virus, which has infected over 54000 in the country as of Saturday, July 11.
They have been isolated in quarantine facilities.
According to the MRT-3, 1308 personnel are needed for the trains to run on a limited capacity.
On Monday, the MRT-3 said it will dispatch 12 train sets, with the first train set to be dispatched at 5:30 a.m from the North Avenue station.
All passengers will be required to fill out health declaration forms before boarding the trains.
Pursuant to the guidance of Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), all depot and station personnel are required to wear full personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, face shields, gowns and gloves.
Employees are also required to submit health declaration forms twice a day.
A ‘5-minute disinfection hustle’ on MRT-3 trains every half loop (at the end stations at the North Ave. Station and Taft Station) is also being implemented.
Meanwhile, the MRT-3 Bus Augmentation Program will continue to deploy 90 buses with a 3-minute fixed dispatching interval.
It will however return to normal operating hours, with the first bus departing at 5:30 a.m.–not at 4 a.m.—and the last bus at 8:00 p.m.–not at 10 p.m.— from both the North Avenue and Taft Avenue stations.
Starting July 6, operations at the MRT-3 were suspended to allow the RT-PCR (swabbing) test of all MRT-3 personnel, including those of its maintenance provider and subcontractors, after hundreds tested positive for COVID-19.
During the temporary shutdown, a thorough disinfection of all MRT-3 facilities was conducted.
