A VIA Rail service manager who dealt with passengers has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Star has learned.

Another VIA Rail employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Star that VIA told its workforce on Tuesday that one of their colleagues had tested for the sometimes deadly virus and was at home in self-isolation.

Those that worked with the employee, a service manager who scans tickets and opens doors, have been told to stay home and self-isolate.

“The company assured us that all employees who have worked with (the service manager) have been informed and instructed to self-isolate,” the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Star on Thursday.

Calls and emails to VIA’s media relations department were not returned to the Star.

Global News had also reported a similar story regarding a VIA worker. Global reported that, in an email to Global, a VIA Rail spokeswoman said the employee was doing well and in self-isolation at home.

The company was still in the process of reaching out to passengers who may have come into contact with the employee, according to the spokeswoman quoted by Global.

“Although possible exposure remains minimal, we have made sure that all our employees and crews were notified as soon as we were made aware of the situation, and we will remain in contact with them through the following weeks,” Marie-Anna Murat, VIA Rail’s senior director of corporate communications, wrote in an email to Global.

“We are in the process of contacting passengers who might have been in direct or indirect contact with our employee.”

It was not clear how VIA was informing passengers that came into contact with the worker.

Businesses in the travel industry are handling such issues in different way. WestJet, for example, posts a list of flights when informed by the Public Health Agency of Canada that a passenger has subsequently tested positive. Air Canada is leaving contacting passengers to local health authorities.

VIA has cut train service recently. On its website, it says, in order to combat the spread of COVID-19 it is:

Increasing how often its trains and stations get cleaned.

Distributing antiviral products, such as hand-sanitizer.

Handing out meals and snacks as passengers board, not serving them during the train ride, so interaction between passengers and employees is limited.

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But passengers may still have to sit beside strangers if trains are sold out.

“VIA Rail remains vigilant, and our processes and procedures will continue to evolve to respond to the latest COVID-19 information,” the company’s website says.