COVID-19 hits close to home: UP worker tests positive

Union Pacific has announced that a 50-year-old man that works in UP’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee and a number of co-workers who came into contact with him are currently quarantined at home.
It’s suspected that the man got the virus while traveling to California and vacationing on a cruise ship. UP reports that the man’s work areas have been disinfected and sanitized.
“It’s unfathomable that rail carriers have not yet implemented all CDC guidelines regarding sanitation and COVID-19 prevention efforts from the outset,” SMART Transportation Division President Jeremy Ferguson said. “We are making every effort during this Federal Railroad Administration-declared emergency to get our membership and rail workers the protections they need.”
The man’s name has not been released.
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