A conductor of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) mofussil bus underwent COVID-19 test at Tiruppur on Friday following the intervention of a Tiruppur Corporation official, who flagged his allegedly unhygienic behaviour.
Requesting anonymity, the official told The Hindu that he boarded the Coimbatore-Tiruppur TNSTC mofussil bus near Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore at 8.15 a.m. to go to Tiruppur for work.
He noticed the bus conductor using saliva to wet his fingers while issuing the bus tickets to the passengers, which was potentially risky for other passengers and himself amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
The official also alleged that the conductor was not wearing the mask properly inside the bus.
Following this, he alerted an urban primary health centre to lift the swab sample of the conductor. “The [COVID-19] test was conducted in the bus stand opposite the Collector’s office [on Palladam Road],” the official said.
Confirming this, a TNSTC official in Tiruppur said that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident and claimed that all conductors and drivers have been instructed to maintain hygiene inside the buses to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
