NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The MTA on Tuesday unveiled a new COVID testing program for employees as cases continue to rise across the Tri-State area.
The first wave of coronavirus hit the MTA hard as more than 100 employees died from the virus and thousands more were infected.
To prevent a similar situation from happening again, MTA Chairman Pat Foye announced a new voluntary COVID screening program that will be available to all transit workers in New York.
“The goal of this is to minimize public health risk to our employees first and to our customers,” he said.
As part of the new program, the MTA hopes to start by testing up to 2,000 employees every week before ramping up capacity.
The program will offer tests at rotating field locations and medical assessment and occupational health services centers. It will work in accordance with the free testing already available through Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care.
The MTA will also continue to hand out personal protective gear to every employee.
“Last week we hit the 10 million mark for masks distributed to our workforce,” Foye said Tuesday.
While MTA officials work to keep employees safe, Transit Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano says Congress needs to step in to help financially.
Ridership on the MTA has decreased dramatically, increasing an already huge fiscal deficit for the agency, which has frequently asked Congress for billions in federal aid.
Utano says without the funding, the workers will suffer.
“We 100% deserve hazard pay, 100%, and the federal government needs to do the right thing right now and send the damn money here,” he said.
The program is the first of its kind in the nation, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised in a statement.
“Our brave frontline transit workers risked their lives to provide New Yorkers an essential service every single day during this pandemic, and we must support them just as they have supported us,” Cuomo said. “This new voluntary screening program leverages New York's nation-leading COVID testing program to help keep our frontline workers safe during this unprecedented pandemic.”
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