Agency virus cases spiking

Heidi Groover has an important article today ($) about rising caseloads among transit staff:

At King County Metro, employees have reported 20 positive tests from the start of this month to Nov. 21. That's up from six in October and about five or fewer per month throughout the summer.

CT and PT are seeing similar rises, while ST has not. While these figures include operators and non-customer facing staff, and sample sizes are small, the exclusion of office-worker-heavy ST suggests this might be more than the generalized increase in regional caseloads. But it's impossible to know.

Fortunately, there have been no local operator fatalities since June.

Figures indicate that only 83% to 85% of Metro riders are wearing masks. Please note that wearing a mask is more about protecting those around you than yourself. This is not about exercising your freedom to assess your own risks; it is about basic consideration for others.