The station, located off the Franconia-Springfield Parkway near the Franconia-Springfield Metro station, is one of two transit police bases and home to more than 100 officers. Officers based at the station serve Metro Center and Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro stations and rail lines and bus routes south.

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Officers will be using video conferencing, radios and phones to check in with supervisors for roll call and other functions. The transit authority hopes to reopen the station later Monday, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.

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The officer, who is not being identified due to health privacy laws, had been off duty since his last shift on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, Metro officials said, he began feeling sick and did not return to work.

Stessel said health officials do not know how he contracted the virus. He did not travel outside of the Washington metropolitan region in recent days, Stessel said. He is described as young and in good health, and his condition is improving daily, Metro said.

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Before Tuesday, Stessel said, the officer spent about half his shifts on foot or onboard Metro transit vehicles. Metro officials traced back as many people as they could who might have been in contact with him and said the officer did not respond to many calls in the time frame. They do not believe he came in close contact with members of the public.

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“We are reviewing the level of contact on three calls for service,” Stessel said. “Public health departments will [make] the method of notification if any is required.”

The officer attended a meeting Wednesday with seven police union members, Metro said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of them were sworn officers, but all seven have been asked to quarantine themselves, Stessel said.

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The officer recently worked in areas around Fairfax County, and Stessel said health officials there have been notified, as have health officials in Prince George’s County, where the officer lives.

Metro informed members of the police force of the positive test result in a memo, and it has stopped all roll calls and other officer meetings involving groups. Metro’s chief medical officer has set up a phone line with recorded information to update police officers and employees on work and health issues related to the virus, Stessel said.

Amalgamated Transit Union, the nation’s largest transportation guild, said Monday it has demanded stronger protection for workers. The union, which represents Metro workers, said it has asked transit agencies to provide front-line workers, including bus drivers and rail operators, with protective gloves, N95 fitted face masks, 2-ounce bottles of alcohol-based sanitizing gel and sterilizing wipes. It also wants protective gloves, goggles and face masks for maintenance workers.

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The union said transit agencies should be offering free coronavirus testing; sanitizing and disinfecting buses, rail cars, stations and garages at least daily; and a “pandemic paid-leave policy” of up to 15 days — along with no penalties for workers who call in sick.

On Monday, Metro began a reduced schedule that canceled rush-hour frequency of trains and buses. Metrorail is running 12-minute headways — the frequency between trains — on all lines throughout the day. Metrobus began operating on a Saturday schedule, but with a few more routes.

After the D.C. government announced some nonessential service cutbacks Sunday, Metro tweeted that may foreshadow more service reductions, saying its “Pandemic Task Force is considering more service changes in light of ‘essential travel only’ guidance and to reduce risk to employees.”

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Stessel said Monday riders could see more service reductions but he could not say when the agency’s task force might make a determination.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more service reductions … as social distancing gets further ramped up,” he said. “Now we have the nightclubs and bars and restaurants [closing or reducing services] in the District and Maryland as well, and at a certain point the task force is discussing the essentials of the community.”

He said any decisions are made while weighing employee safety with ridership demand, which has decreased since Friday.

Although Metro is not offering peak-hour service, the fare structure will remain the same, the transit agency said.

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“We are charging peak fares. Changing the fare table is a labor-intensive process (there are 14,000 possible fare combinations), and it’s simply not the priority when we’re managing our response to a global pandemic,” Stessel said. “If peak fares means people choose to stay home instead, that’s an unintended consequence. But lowering them could induce ridership, and we don’t want that right now.”

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The service reductions contrasted with other public transit rail services. In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was running on a normal subway service schedule Monday, according to its website. Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco was also operating on its regular schedule despite ridership being down more than 60 percent Sunday compared with last month, BART said on its website.

“BART is running regular service today,” the agency said. “With fewer riders and increased disinfecting, social distancing is possible and we are committed to regular service for those who rely on transit.”

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Metro began preparing for the coronavirus in January, when it convened a pandemic task force made up of representatives from many of its divisions, including transit police and emergency management officials.

The transit authority ordered 25 percent more hospital-grade cleaning solution, disposable gloves and face masks, while it began daily wipe downs of Metrobus fare boxes and compartments where bus operators sit and steer.

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The task force also began monitoring employee absences for possible signs of outbreaks within departments or stations.

Metro shifted to “phase two” early this month and “phase three” on Friday, its highest level of pandemic response, when it called for the cutback in service frequency.

It also began more stringent disinfecting of rail cars and buses, including the weekly use of “electrostatic fogging” that helps clean hard to reach surfaces, ducts and compartments. Visitors are prohibited at all Metro administrative offices, and public meetings have been suspended.