<p>A Steamship Authority employee who works on the Martha’s Vineyard route has tested positive for Covid-19. The employee last worked on Monday.
A Steamship Authority employee who works on the Martha’s Vineyard route has tested positive for Covid-19, according to a release Thursday from SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll.
The individual who tested positive was assigned to the M/V Martha’s Vineyard, which runs eight round-trip routes per day, starting at 6 a.m. in Vineyard Haven and leaving for its final route at 9:45 p.m. from Woods Hole.
According to the release, the employee last worked on a shift that began at noon on Sunday, Nov. 8 and ended with the vessel’s 11:30 a.m. arrival in Woods Hole on Monday, Nov. 9.
“Following that shift, the employee was informed that a relative with whom there had been close contact had tested positive for COVID-19. The employee then was tested and received the positive results on Thursday,” the release states. “The Authority is not disclosing the employee’s name or position within the company to ensure their private health information remains confidential.”
The positive case among steamship employees comes as coronavirus cases continue to spike throughout the Island and state, interrupting everything from school reopening to town meetings.
But Mr. Driscoll said that as of Thursday, steamship routes would be unaffected by the positive case and that the contact tracing process had begun.
“The Authority is in the process of notifying vessel employees who were in close contact with the affected employee and directing them to be tested for COVID-19. Those employees will not be allowed to return to work until after they receive a negative test result or are cleared to work by a medical professional,” the release states. “No operational changes or interruptions are anticipated as a result of this incident.”
The Steamship Authority has reported approximately ten coronavirus cases among its crew since the pandemic began, including three cases earlier this summer that led to more than 30 employees quarantining and the cancellation of dozens of routes. The ferry service had to reorient its schedule and shuffle boats between the Nantucket and Vineyard route after the employees tested positive.
On Thursday, Mr. Driscoll said that the boatline would be taking additional preventative steps to ensure employee and public safety and added that every boat was disinfected daily.
“Every night, Steamship Authority personnel use hospital-grade disinfectants on board all vessels, including the M/V Martha’s Vineyard, to perform a cleaning of both public and employee areas,” Mr. Driscoll wrote. “The cleaning is part of the precautionary measures taken daily by the Authority’s terminal employees and vessel crews to thoroughly clean and disinfect all high-touch areas, including hand railings, table tops, door handles, seats, faucets, and toilets. In addition, crews are assigned nightly to perform cleaning and disinfectant measures onboard the vessels.”
Comments
I have only left the island
P. Washington Oak BluffsI have only left the island a few times since February and each time I was in my car with windows closed. I noticed the parking lot shuttle buses at woods hole were full and passengers waiting to board the ferrries were not socially distanced. During conversations with friends who are daily commuters to the island there is concern about lack of more frequent sanitation/ sterilization on the SSA ferries (especially in the common areas where walk on passengers ride). This does not give a high comfort level especially for those who walk on the ferry. It would seem the stairwell railings, passenger seating areas/tables should be sprayed with disinfecting solutions and wiped down after each trip to help reduce the spread among passengers and SSA employees. Shuttle bus drivers should also be required to ensure riders are safety distanced on the bus. The State and Federal Govt requires this of restaurants and airplanes, so why not on the SSA vessels.
SSA may be doing its best to
JP EdgartownSSA may be doing its best to clean and sanitize all vessels, but continued non-compliance of passengers, and even some employees, regarding mask wearing is a big problem. Last week while traveling on the Marthas Vineyard there were MULTIPLE passengers in separate groups who were out of vehicles, seated on the main deck, and not wearing masks. One SSA employee on the freight deck was wearing his mask below his nose. Talking to friends in your group, talking on your phone, eating, etc. should NOT absolve anyone from this requirement, yet there were no SSA staff in view to address this issue; even at the purser's desk. If the no smoking rule can be enforced, why can't the mask rule? At the very least, is it possible to require that any passenger not wearing a mask must stay outside regardless of the weather?
My daughter and I traveled RT
SM Oak BluffsMy daughter and I traveled RT by car yesterday. On both legs we (in our car and with our masks on) saw Steamship Authority personnel wearing their masks improperly, including the man who took our ticket as we boarded in Woods Hole. His was so far under his nose it looked like they might never have been introduced--and he, who definitionally is within arms length of the public, looked totally comfortable with it.
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