A public service vehicle driver on one of the country’s busiest routes has come down with COVID-19, the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) confirmed on Friday, and pleaded with anyone who came into contact with that driver to get tested for the deadly virus.
But AOPT chairman Roy Raphael, urging a get-tough approach to passengers disobeying the protocols as they ride on PSVs, has called for on-the-spot ticketing of offenders.
In a note late Friday, AOPT director Craig Banfield said that on Monday the driver of ZR 85 became ill while plying Route 11 Silver Sands, and required assistance from passengers and medical personnel.
Banfield said in the statement: “He was tested for COVID-19 and the results returned positive on August 31, 2021. The Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, is encouraging all persons who travelled on ZR 85 or came into close contact with the driver between August 23 and August 29, 2021, to present themselves for COVID-19 testing.
“Persons who came into close contact with the driver are encouraged to seek medical attention and test from September 5, 2021. In addition, anyone who believed they were exposed or are experiencing symptoms, are asked to seek medical attention. Testing for persons connected with the above instance can be facilitated at the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic, Branford Taitt Polyclinic or the Wildey Gymnasium testing site.”
Raphael was unable to say if the COVID-19 case was the result of a passenger not wearing a mask. But he said some passengers were still refusing to put on a mask when on public transport and he wanted this practice to stop.
He said he believed the time had come for Government to implement policies that would see violators of the rules on PSVs being charged without delay
“We still have persons entering our buses not wearing their masks and it is a concern to us generally. Some people say they can’t breathe properly in the mask and when the operators ask the passengers to wear their mask they get [verbally] abused. So we really want to caution the public that they need to put on their mask as they enter our public service vehicles,” the AOPT boss said.
He claimed some PSV operators were fearful of putting out riders for not wearing a mask because some have become unruly.
“It is a risk,” Raphael said. “We have situations where drivers put out passengers already and they got cuss and they got stoned. So it is a risk. I don’t think the conductor or driver should put themselves at that type of risk particularly at night. Let the authorities deal with it.”
Since February, wearing a mask in public has been mandatory, except for those who are unable to do so due to special circumstances or a physical condition.
Raphael said: “What we would like to see is legislation similar to what Grenada and St Vincent have where the person is ticketed forthwith. So you don’t wear your mask you know you will pay $250 forthwith. In that way, you don’t have to wait for a court date and people understand the seriousness of it.”
The PSV boss said he was urging his association members, especially those over the age of 50 years, to “put a divider between themselves and the passenger, walk with additional masks and hand sanitizers and do not pick up anybody unless you do the temperature check. We don’t want our taxi operators come down with COVID”.
In a separate development, the AOPT chairman said he was also keeping a close eye on the number of illegal PSV operators that were “creeping into the system right now”. He added that he was getting reports of some of them travelling at full capacity with air conditioning running.
Raphael said: “We have a number of pirates out there who run the routes daily and endanger people’s lives. If there were any COVID cases in those vehicles we can’t tell because there is no form of tracing
“We are saying to these people that they are breaking the law. I would like the Transport Authority to look into that.”
He said one solution was for authorities to place more buses on routes that were underserved.
“These pirates need to function in the way they should,” he said. “They can feel free to apply to the Transport Authority or even speak to us and we can assist them in getting a permit to operate, but to operate with people’s lives at risk. It is a risk and you are creating a health issue for Barbados now as it relates to COVID.”
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)
