The TTC has reversed its prohibition against its employees wearing face masks during the COVID-19 outbreak, and will now let workers who wish to use the devices do so.

The transit agency had previously rejected calls from the union representing its bus, streetcar, and subway operators to permit workers who have daily contact with hundreds of passengers to wear the masks.

But on Wednesday the agency issued a news release saying “TTC employees who choose to wear their own masks while working will be permitted” to use them.

Over the next 24 hours, the TTC will also start letting bus passengers board at all vehicle doors to prevent “pinch points” at the front of the bus near the driver. The move is intended to “allow for further social distancing among customers and between customers and operators,” the statement said. All-door boarding is already permitted on streetcars.

In addition, the release said community housing residents who show symptoms of COVID-19 will be transported to healthcare facilities by Wheel-Trans. Drivers tasked with the job will be provided with personal protective equipment, as will the passengers. The vehicles used “will undergo intense cleaning.”

As it has done since calls to allow masks began, the agency noted in its release that Toronto Public Health has advised against healthy people wearing masks because they may increase the risk of infection, “as they can lead to individuals touching their face more often than necessary.”

However, “the TTC has determined that, for the comfort of employees, and to ensure continuity of transit service for those who need it at this time, it will not restrict employees from wearing masks while at work,” the statement said.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green confirmed that the reversal was driven by the agency’s desire to avoid job action from employees that could disrupt service. The TTC is continuing to operate full service despite demand dropping precipitously in recent days as residents heed public health advice to work from home and avoid non-essential outings. The TTC says it’s maintaining service at regular levels because some residents still need to rely on the transit agency to get around.

“We have had several work refusals in the last few days, and so this is a way to ease concerns of operators and make sure that service continues,” Green said.

Aside from Wheel-Trans drivers, the TTC won’t provide employees with masks, according to Green.

Carlos Santos, the president of the union that represents most TTC workers, called the agency dropping its opposition to masks a “big victory.”

Santos, who represents Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, said that while public health recommendations don’t support healthy people wearing masks, the prohibition against them was a source of stress for transit operators.

“And at the end of the day, whether it stops them from getting it or it doesn’t, at least they now have one less thing to worry about when they go out and do their job,” he said.

Santos said between five and 10 TTC workers had shown up to their shifts wearing masks in recent days, and had been prevented by management from going out on the job.

Santos praised the TTC for other policy changes in response to the outbreak, which he said included waiving the need for employees to get notes from doctors when calling in sick, and permitting employees at subway stations to remain in booths if they’re concerned for their health.

A TTC bus driver who spoke to the Star Wednesday prior to the announcement said transit agency employees, who are being asked to show up to work while much of the rest of the city shuts down, are “on edge and worried” about the spread of the virus.

The driver, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for retaliation from management, acknowledged that masks aren’t “a guaranteed protection.

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“But if makes the operator feel safer, then I’m sure it’s easier to operate the bus, and we’re not worried, so it’s safer for everybody in the end,” he said.

In a statement, Mayor John Tory thanked TTC workers “for undertaking these changes to help protect the health of our residents and continue providing service at this difficult time.”

“Our frontline TTC workers move our city every day but it is more important than ever that they keep service running so that health care workers who rely on transit can get to work to help people who need it the most right now,” he said.

Metrolinx, the provincial transit agency that oversees GO Transit, is not yet allowing its workers to wear masks. Agency spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the organization began fit testing and training its employees on its stock of reusable masks Monday “to ensure that we are ready.”