Too many Budapest public transport employees in quarantine – operation at risk?

In times of a global pandemic, many professions mean more risks to employees than a regular office job. Most of the employees of BKV (Budapest Transport Privately Held Corporation) interact with a huge number of people every single day, meaning that their occupation is considered rather dangerous in this situation. 

We reported back in March that the company was in a tough situation due to many employees being sick with coronavirus.

Their illness even risked the functioning of metro line M2.

Their vaccination would be crucial in order to ensure the smooth operation of public transport in the capital. Last month, BKV already announced that they had made steps towards inoculating their employees as soon as possible.

Index.hu asked the corporation about how the process is going and how the number of infected employees has changed over the past month. BKV’s answer is not the best news.

On March 24, Cecília Müller announced the vaccination of all those employees working in a field that is crucial to operating the infrastructure of the country. The announcement also made public the number of BKV workers involved in the pandemic. 500 of them were in quarantine at that time, 1750 of them officially went through the contagious virus, and the company sadly lost 9 of its employees.

BKV admitted that the coronavirus pandemic indeed had made harder the situation and the functioning of the corporation. However, they added that those employees who went through the infection and recuperated already are continuously returning to work.

Thus, the constant operation is not endangered.

Now, answering the questions of index.hu, the Press Office of the company said that apart from those workers who were inoculated based on the general vaccination system,

700 more employees had the chance to receive their doses thanks to an opportunity provided separately to BKV.

According to the most recent data as of Tuesday, altogether

more than 2000 BKV employees have been or are still currently in quarantine.

The company has lost 22 of its workers in relation to the virus.

The Press Office also noted that their Coronavirus Pandemic Plan setting up the order to be vaccinated could be modified by the increase of infections in a certain district and by the possibilities for substitution.

Based on these factors, colleagues working in traffic control were the first ones on the list. Apart from their internal plan, the vaccination process of BKV workers is simultaneously going on based on the national vaccination plan, added the Press Office.

The corporation is doing everything it can to make sure its employees are protected as soon as possible. They launched a campaign emphasising the importance of the vaccine, and they create the possibility for all workers to arrive to the given location to receive their jabs.

Read alsoHungary’s vaccination drive progresses twice as fast as in EU – the latest numbers

Source: index.hu