MONTREAL -- VIA Rail announced Saturday that a maintenance centre employee has tested positive for COVID-19.

The employee was working in the storage room of the company’s maintenance centre on Ash Ave. in Montreal and tested positive for the virus Friday evening, according to a news release.

The employee, the release reads, has not worked since Apr. 1 when he told a supervisor he was experiencing flu-like symptoms, and had been in contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.

VIA Rail said the three employees who had direct contact with the infected colleague have been in self-isolation since Wednesday and have been asked to monitor their symptoms for the next two weeks.

In addition, VIA Rail said it has taken all cleaning protocol steps and that specific zones of the maintenance centre have been sectioned off and will be cleaned and sanitized according to Health Canada guidelines.

“We remain in close communication with our employee and are providing all the support he needs to recover in the best possible conditions. Our thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time,” the release reads.

SERVICE CHANGES

VIA Rail announced the company has adjusted its operations and deployed a strict sanitization protocol on its trains, at stations, maintenance centres and call centres to minimize COVID-19’s spread.

Updates of schedule changes and adjustments are available on the company’s site.