The Metro Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston Metro) is taking additional measures to protect passengers and employees from the spread of COVID-19.
Customers traveling by local bus and METRORail will see signs of additional safeguards put in place to support public health officials' recommendations.
Houston Metro staff installed hundreds of orange mesh fencing material on local buses to assure an appropriate social distance between bus operators and passengers. This is in addition to the required rear-door boarding and exiting put in place last month, as well as a reduction in seating availability by 50 percent.
Houston Metro is also supplying bus and rail operators as well as Houston Metro Police Officers with face masks and gloves. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged face masks could provide some benefit in preventing the spread of the disease.
Health care experts say one of the first symptoms of COVID-19 is usually a cough or fever; so, Houston Metro has started checking the temperatures of all employees daily while at work. Those with even a low-grade fever will be sent home to recover and advised to contact their health care provider.
Houston Metro is also continuing its daily rigorous cleaning schedule and is bringing in more workers to disinfect buses during midday. The authority says it continues to pay special attention to surfaces frequently touched by the public.
Connecting essential workers to essential jobs, and doing so safely, remains the authority's focus during these challenging times, says Houston Metro.
