MST RIDES driver is in self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.

In order to protect the privacy of patients who test positive for Covid-19, the Monterey County Health Department releases limited information about who they are—broad age ranges and geographic areas of residence, for example. 

There's one patient we do know a little bit more about: where they work. Monterey-Salinas Transit announced on Saturday that a driver employed by the company MV Transportation, which contracts to provide services to MST, has tested positive for coronavirus. (MST has not indicated whether the driver lives in Monterey County, and is not releasing identifying information about the individual.)

The driver had most recently interacted with colleagues and passengers on Sunday, March 29, one day before they began to feel ill and began self-isolation on Monday. MST learned about the positive test on Thursday evening.

Between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, MST and MV officials identified the three or four coworkers and about 14 passengers who came in close proximity with the driver over the previous four days, and provided contact information for those individuals to the Monterey County Health Department.

Those passengers and colleagues have been advised to self-isolate and call a doctor if they develop symptoms of Covid-19.

The driver serves MST RIDES, a paratransit system with wheelchair lifts; RIDES serves disabled customers who are unable to use MST's standard buses.

Because the RIDES program requires advanced registration, MST General Manager Carl Sedoryk says it was easy to contact every affected passenger. "The fact that they had prearranged these trips meant we could contact them immediately," he says. 

"The bottom line is, our planning and preparation on this worked," Sedoryk says. "Someone felt they were ill, and they didn't come into work. Once we were notified, within less than a day, were able to notify every employee and passenger who potentially came in contact with that person.

The three affected buses and garage have also received an extra round of sanitization and cleaning. (MV uses a separate garage from MST's direct employees.)

MV Transportation is the largest privately owned passenger transportation and paratransit contractor in the U.S., according to the company website. They've been providing MST RIDES services for about 15 years.