The approaching flu season is expected to be complicated by influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu, and may have some OC Transpo drivers and passengers thinking twice about travelling in close quarters, but the city is not rolling out countermeasures just yet.
Transit Committee chair Alex Cullen said he has not heard any specific safety concerns from drivers, but noted that Ottawa’s medical officer of health, Dr. Isra Levy, has been consulting with OC Transpo.
“Our quarterback on the H1N1 issue is the medical officer of health,” Cullen said, noting that earlier this summer, he referred a proposal to install hand sanitizers on buses to Levy.
“At this point, there are no specific measures being suggested,” Cullen said. “Obviously if we run into a serious outbreak then we will be looking at other measures to help reduce the exposure of people to H1NI.”
