Port Authority reports 3rd bus driver tests positive for coronavirus

A third Port Authority bus driver tested positive for coronavirus, authority officials said Thursday.

The driver works out of the West Mifflin garage and has not been to work since March 13, according to spokesman Adam Brandolph. The employee has been in self-quarantine since March 23.

Brandolph said that, upon learning of the employee’s diagnosis, a maintenance crew performed a deep cleaning of the West Mifflin garage and any buses the operator drove on their last day of work.

Crews have been cleaning and disinfecting vehicles daily for weeks and additional precautions have been put into place, such as requiring passengers to board via the rear door.

The Port Authority saw its first employee diagnosed with covid-19 late last month, and officials announced a second case over the weekend. That employee – also a driver in the West Mifflin garage – had not worked since March 21.

The authority and its union agreed last month that employees held out of work because of virus-related issues would continue to be paid with medical certification.