ST. LOUIS — A Bi-State Development employee died from COVID-19, Bi-State said Tuesday.
"It is with profound sadness that we announce the loss of one of our own Bi-State Development team members due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the news release said. "The impacts of this horrible disease are devastating and today’s loss is a stark reminder of the serious threat COVID-19 poses to our families, friends and communities.
Wednesday, the Amalgated Transit Union Local 788, posted a photo of the driver on Twitter and identified him as Dennis Wallace.
Bi-State said 13 additional employees across six locations have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday. Bi-State said all employees who were in close contact with an employee who tested positive were asked to quarantine for 14 days, and any equipment the employee was in contact with was disinfected according to CDC guidelines.
This comes less than a week after Bi-State announced 10 of its employees had tested positive.
At that time, Bi-State said Metro Transit had been practicing midday and nightly cleanings of vehicles, encouraging social distancing aboard trains and buses, modifying their services and limiting contact with operators over the past several weeks.
For more information about changes to the Metro Transit system, visit the COVID-19 page on the Metro website.
Read the full statement below:
It is with profound sadness that we announce the loss of one of our own Bi-State Development team members due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of this horrible disease are devastating and today’s loss is a stark reminder of the serious threat COVID-19 poses to our families, friends, and communities.
To date, 14 Bi-State Development team members across six different locations have tested positive for COVID-19. In response, anyone who had close contact with these team members was identified and reached out to directly. Those individuals were asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. In addition, the facilities and areas where potential exposure occurred have been sanitized and disinfected using CDC guidelines.
Bi-State Development takes the health and safety of our employees and our customers seriously and encourages everyone to exercise caution and take all appropriate health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Tonight we offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of our teammate, and remain committed to measures intended to keep our team members safer.
