CTA bus driver tests positive for COVID-19

A CTA bus driver has tested positive for the coronavirus, transit officials announced Saturday.

City health officials confirmed the driver, who operated a bus working out of the Forest Glen bus garage at 5914 W. Armstrong Ave., was diagnosed with COVID-19, according to a statement from the CTA.

The agency has been in contact with that person and any employees who may have had direct contact with them, officials said. CTA has recommended that any employee who has concerns about their health stay home, contact the Chicago Department of Public Health for information or consult a doctor.

The Forest Glen bus garage will remain open. The CTA “is conducting an extensive cleaning and disinfection of the impacted area of the building.”

“CTA conducts regular, robust cleaning of railcars, buses and stations,” officials said in a statement. “Vehicles and stations are cleaned and disinfected daily, and vehicles also received regular deep cleanings. City health officials have reviewed CTA’s cleaning plan and say current procedures are adequate; no changes are recommended at this point.”

Work locations “have been equipped with either liquid hand sanitizer or soap,” and information from “city, state and federal health officials have been posted in the common areas of all work locations,” according to the CTA. The agency is also requiring employees to practice social distancing and urging riders to do the same.

At least 585 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Illinois since the global pandemic first hit the state in late January. Five people have died.

Public transportation systems are remaining in operation in Illinois under the terms of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive order for all residents to stay home in an effort to contain the outbreak.