The Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the private operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), is now prohibiting its passengers from talking inside the trains to prevent the further spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

LRMC Corporate Communications head Jacqueline Gorospe, in an interview  on Dobol B sa News TV on Friday,  said they observed that some LRT1 passengers continue to remove their masks while inside the wagons, especially when they have to answer their phones.

“Knowing ‘yung COVID-19, nata-transmit siya through droplets, another layer of protection is if walang nagsasalita, walang lalabas na droplets,” Gorospe said.

“We remind our passengers na kailangan po i-postpone muna ‘yung call. Or if they need to talk, kailangan nakasuot ang mask,” she added.

Gorospe said marshalls and LRT personnel will roam the trains to ensure the implementation of the protocol.

Meanwhile, Gorospe said eight of their personnel had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past months.

They had undergone quarantine as soon as they were tested positive, with two to three employees already in recovery and completing their 14-day quarantine period.

Gorospe said no more than 50 percent of their employees were being deployed at the depot and in their office during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) up to General Community Quarantine (GCQ).

The coronavirus disease has infected four more depot personnel of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3), increasing the number of those infected to 202, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

In an update from Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran, of the 202 infected workers, 181 are depot personnel, 15 are ticket sellers, three are train drivers, two are assigned at the control center, and one is a nurse.

Of the infected ticket sellers, eight were assigned at the North Avenue Station, three at the Araneta Center-Cubao Station, two at the GMA-Kamuning Station, one at the Quezon Avenue Station while the other one is on reserve status./Stacy Ang