A Halifax Transit operator left their shift at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Monday after reporting feeling unwell with symptoms similar to COVID-19.
The driver immediately contacted Emergency Health Services and two other employees waited with the driver.
The affected person was sent to hospital for testing, the others were sent home and advised to contact public health.
The results of the driver’s test have yet to come back.
The Halifax Regional Municipality said the Sackville Terminal was temporarily closed as a precautionary measure.
Ken Wilson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 508, said the terminal was closed upon reports of the potential case of COVID-19 in order to allow for proper sterilization of the affected vehicle.
“It was towed back from the Sackville Terminal and it will be disinfected properly and left outside of the garages until it’s been cleaned and disinfected before putting it back into service,” Wilson explained.
Wilson indicated that while procedures were followed as directed, there is some concern they may require a review concerning what steps need to be taken following the potential exposure.
“We are hearing the bus garage, where the operator left this morning, that that lobby was not being closed,” he said.
“We’re concerned that they’re closing a terminal where the operator was for a couple of minutes but not the lobby where he could’ve sat in for 15 minutes before he left to get his bus.”
A spokesperson for the municipality, Erin DiCarlo, said the municipality will not release specifics about whether an employee tests positive for COVID-19.
“If a municipal employee tests positive, public health will be in contact with the individual and will complete contact tracing to identify all those who have been in close contact,” DiCarlo said in a statement.
“If public health’s investigation determines a public notification is needed, they will issue [a notification].”