The latest COVID-19 surge has brought another blow to MTA employees, and the increasing number of positive tests among bus employees threatens to reduce subway and bus services.

According to internal MTA data obtained by THE CITY, in the 7 days ending December 16th, 169 subway workers reported positive for COVID—an increase of 156% from two weeks ago, when 66 workers tested positive . The report shows that in the 7 days ending November 26, 38 subway workers tested positive.

The report shows that a year ago, as of the week of December 18, 2020, 103 subway workers tested positive.

The MTA will not comment on these figures, which indicate that 60 workers in the subway department responsible for maintaining signals and electricity tested positive, and 44 service providers (including train operators and conductors) tested positive The result was positive.

A spokesperson for the Transportation Bureau pointed out General increase Cases of COVID in the metropolitan area and stated that it “affected” the MTA, but declined to specify how the absence of workers affects subway and bus services.

Spokesperson Eugene Resnick said: “We are working with our labor partners to ensure that we have staff available so that we can provide the best service and closely monitor the situation through our robust COVID vaccine or testing program.” “MTA will continue to make adjustments to minimize any impact on service delivery.”

Passenger volume is close to “normal”

The agency is online Metro performance dashboard Shows that 92.4% of weekday trains operate during peak hours in November, which is the fourth consecutive month that service delivery has climbed. This number increased to 93.8% on buses, partly due to the addition of nearly 200 newly trained drivers. Performance statistics for December are not yet available.

The pandemic has caused huge losses to MTA employees. Since the virus broke out in the spring of 2020, more than 170 employees have died and thousands have tested positive.

At the peak of the pandemic, subway ridership fell by more than 90% and destroyed the MTA’s finances until the agency received billions of dollars in funding Emergency federal funds.

Rampant spread before the holiday Omicron variants Arrived as a subway Number of passengers Within a few working days in December, as bus usage approached 70% of pre-pandemic levels, this number climbed to a high point in the COVID era, exceeding 3 million.

The proliferation of Omicron forced the cancellation of everything from holiday parties to hockey games to Broadway shows. Nonetheless, leaders from President Joe Biden to Governor Casey Hochle to Mayor Bill de Blasio stated that there is no reason to implement the practice of almost paralyzing the city from mid-March 2020. Kind of blockade. “In 2020, people stay at home, people work from home,” 31-year-old Eric Russell said after a train at 125th Street Station. “Right now, the train feels overcrowded. It doesn’t matter if you come in the morning, noon or evening, so if the staff test positive, it’s worth paying attention to.”

More cases, less sickness

Officials pointed out that the surge in coronavirus cases so far has not led to the number of inpatients in the intensive care unit approaching the numbers in the spring of 2020.

The head of the city’s hospital system, Dr. Mitchell Katz, said on Wednesday that as of Wednesday, medical centers operating in 11 cities had 54 COVID patients in the ICU, down from 970 in March last year.

Including private hospitals, there were about 220 patients in the ICU in the five administrative districts on Wednesday, which is roughly where the numbers are. Early SeptemberDuring the deadliest period of the New York pandemic, April 11, 2020, the city’s ICU patients reached a peak of 3,141.

On Wednesday, De Blasio announced the opening of seven additional test sites operated by the city government. He called the city’s 10,991 new COVID cases in seven days on average “shocking”.

He said that by the end of this week, the total will increase to 119, because New Yorkers tired of the epidemic will have to wait in long lines for the results. Huge demand prompts CityMD Temporarily closed Due to staff shortages, there are 13 branches in the city.

“Our job is to minimize the number of routes between city-operated sites and our partner sites,” De Blasio said. “To provide you with the best experience and bring you the fastest results.”

On December 21, 2021, Brooklyns wait in line at the COVID detection point on Flushing Avenue in Bushwick. Hiram Alejandro Durán/ THE CITY

Starting Thursday, the city will distribute free home test kits in locations near the five administrative districts. New Yorkers vaccinated at the city-operated vaccination sites and those operated by SOMOS Community Care will receive $100 by December 31.

Tomorrow, Friday, December 24: Use Binax for free at home #Coronavirus disease The test will start at 9 am. There will be 2,000 kits per site:

Bronx: Bryant Park, corner of E Fordham Rd and E Kingsbridge Rd, 10458

Brooklyn: Flatbush, corner of Church Ave and Flatbush Ave, 11226

-Major Bill De Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 23, 2021

On Monday, the MTA will start offering Walk-in COVID-19 The test will be conducted at Times Square-42nd Street Metro Complex from 8 am to 2 pm, and the test will be conducted at Grand Central Station from 3 pm to 8 pm. Although the two stations will not be tested on New Year’s Day, the test will be conducted at another five points Subway station next week.

Times Square-42nd Street and Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street stations provide COVID-19 booster injections and will also be available in Grand Central from December 27th.

‘Whipped’

New York City transit has been steadily recovering Staff shortage The recruitment freeze in June resulted in the cancellation of more than 10,600 scheduled subway trips—the highest level since the employee prevalence soared in March 2020.

In recent months, the agency has started Replenishment team Reduced labor force due to recruitment freeze and retirement. However, officials from the MTA and the Transport Workers’ Union Local 100 admitted that by 2022, subway passengers will continue to feel the impact of the shortage of workers.

“I use this service every day,” said 33-year-old Alex Rojas, who is waiting for a train at 79th Street Station. “So the delayed traffic will backfire and affect my ability to go to work.”

Now, the latest COVID surge is hindering people’s development.

JP Patafio, vice president of the Brooklyn Bus Operators Union, said: “Omicron is growing rapidly.” “This puts a lot of pressure on the service because you are absent too many times.”