Two Golden Arrow bus company workers test positive

Golden Arrow Bus Services, in Cape Town, on Wednesday confirmed that two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus and that additional testing was under way.

Spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer said neither of the cases involved bus drivers.

She would not confirm in which departments the two employees worked, but said it had been sanitised and temporarily closed.

Dyke-Beyer said the company’s response was guided by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and its own comprehensive risk assessment plans.

Decontamination

“Professional decontamination is taking place and those staff members who worked in close proximity with the affected staff members have been asked to self-isolate. This is in addition to their details having been provided to the authorities,” she explained.

“Golden Arrow was proactive in taking precautionary measures before the lockdown and we believe that these measures – if combined with consistent social distancing – provide a high level of protection to our staff. We do not believe that these infections occurred on our premises.”

Dyke-Beyer added that all their frontline staff wore gloves and masks. They also had access to their own supply of hand sanitiser.

“Drivers are behind enclosed cabs when in their buses. Surface sanitisation takes place regularly on buses and at our premises. However, we will also be taking additional precautionary measures to ensure the virus is not able to spread should individual staff members become ill.”

This included temperature testing for people entering the company’s premises, and automated query systems to reduce the number of staff making face-to-face contact.

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