The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today helped distribute 47,484 CoViD-19 testing kits to 106 nursing homes across New York City as well as personal protective equipment nursing home staff will use when administering the tests. Members of the MTA Police Department, New York City Transit, MTA Bridges and Tunnels and the MTA Bus Company worked alongside the National Guard to deliver the supplies, which were provided by New York State.
“MTA employees are known as #HeroesMovingHeroes because they run the trains and buses that get essential employees where they need to go to fight the pandemic, but our employees are also working behind the scenes in many ways, and this is one important one,” said MTA Chief Safety Officer Patrick Warren. “Helping to distribute crucial supplies, like CoViD-19 testing kits, is one of the ways MTA employees are rising above and beyond the call of duty to help wherever they can during the pandemic. Their continued work shows their commitment to all New Yorkers.”
In addition to the CoViD-19 Testing Kits, the MTA helped to distribute: 3,074 face shields, 2,120 gowns, 2,120 N95 masks, 2,400 pairs of gloves, and 5,194 coolers for shipment of test specimens. The New York State Department of Transportation dropped off the materials to the MTA’s central PPE storage warehouse in the Bronx over the weekend before being driven today by MTA employees and members of the National Guard to nursing homes in Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens.
As an international leader among transportation agencies, the MTA has also distributed millions of pieces of personal protective equipment to its own workforce since March 01, 2020, including more than four million pairs of gloves and nearly two million masks. The agency will continue to aggressive work to protect employees.
