#MTA to start COVID-19 testing for thousands of workers weekly

The MTA plans to start testing thousands of workers per week for COVID-19, officials announced Tuesday.

Testing will take place at a rotating set of workplaces, including train and bus depots, as well as at medical assessment and occupational health services centers, officials said.

“Our brave frontline transit workers risked their lives to provide New Yorkers an essential service every single day during this pandemic, and we must support them just as they have supported us,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

The initial rollout will test “up to” 2,000 agency employees per day, with an ultimate goal to test 15 percent of the MTA’s frontline workforce, Cuomo’s office said.

At least 125 active MTA employees have died from coronavirus since the pandemic began in March, according to official agency figures — out of a workforce of around 70,000.

But the MTA’s COVID-19 death toll only tells part of the story: As the pandemic raged in March and April, more than 10,000 employees missed work due to exposure to the virus.

The surge in absences forced massive subway cancelations, which in turn caused dangerously crowded conditions in train cars.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano, whose union pushed for increased testing capacity, said the new regiment will help prevent another round of deaths as the number of people infected rises across the country.

“It is very important that we test as many members as we can, as much as we can,” Utano told reporters at Grand Avenue bus depot on Tuesday.

“We want to catch those people that have the virus and are not showing the symptoms. It’s very, very important — because that’s how this virus is being spread.”