Photo Courtesy of Andrew Cashin/MTA New York City Transit
Temperature Brigade members check all MTA employees entering a work location using thermal scan thermometers on foreheads.
By Forum Staff
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has deployed a “Temperature Brigade” consisting of medically trained personnel to check the temperatures of employees at 22 strategic locations prior to starting their shifts, as the organization continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged its ranks.
The brigade is drawn from across the MTA, including NYC Transit safety and security personnel, Long Island Rail Road fire marshals and Metro-North fire brigade, as well as 60 contract workers, all medically trained, deployed 24/7 to locations covering all MTA agencies. It has been deployed to 22 critical locations, including Queens posts: New York City Transit Queens Village Depot, NYCT Grand Avenue Depot, NYCT College Point Depot, NYCT JFK Depot, and the LIRR Jamaica Command Center.
According to the agency, Temperature Brigade members check all employees entering a work location using thermal scan thermometers on foreheads. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher is sent home and instructed to seek medical guidance and report back to the MTA.
The Brigade started at seven sites last month and has ramped up with more than 2,000 employees a day now being tested. The fever rate being found by the brigade is extremely low—approximately one out of every 1,000 employees checked.
“Our ‘temperature brigade’ helps reduce risk for everyone, and they are among the thousands of behind-the-scenes heroes at the MTA working hard to fight this formidable pandemic,” said MTA Chief Safety Officer Patrick Warren.“Our frontline employees are incredible, and we thank them for their courage and commitment to public service.”
