Peel Public Health investigating COVID-19 cases on Brampton transit

Peel Public Health saysit is investigating a numberof COVID-19 cases among Brampton Transit employees,which isexpected to cause diversions on three transit routes.

The investigation is primarily on Route 511, whichruns along Steeles Avenue East, saidAlexMilojevic, the general manager of Brampton Transit.He said Peel Public Health asked to test transit driversafter there were nine positive cases among them, including three cases on Route 511.

There were four more positive cases discovered after three days of testing last week and two of them were drivers on Route 511, according to Milojevic.

"As of this morning, we've asked drivers who have not taken the testing to self-isolate if they've driven the route 511 since February 19," he said Tuesday.

Route511, Route 11 and Route 51 will be divertedwhile the investigation is ongoing, according to Milojevic. The alternate routes will be available on the Brampton Transit website on Tuesday afternoon, he said.

Peel Public Health said it hasnot declared an outbreak on Brampton Transit, nor has itlinked any outbreaks to theinvestigation.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we have recommended testing for impacted employees and asked those who refuse testing to self-isolate," Peel Public Health said in a statement.

"At this time, with the additional measures recommended, our investigation does not suggest any increased risk to the public beyond the risk that already exists due to ongoing community transmission."

Milojevic said Brampton Transit testedaround 570 employees in total for COVID-19 last weekand that500 of them were drivers.