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Missouri coronavirus patient traveled on Amtrak

Posted at 3:45 PM, Mar 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-09 17:48:04-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missourian who tested presumptive positive for coronavirus recently traveled on an Amtrak train.

Amtrak officials issued a statement Sunday afternoon stating that the person -- identified Saturday as a St. Louis County woman in her 20s who had recently traveled to Italy -- was on Amtrak train 303, with service from Chicago to St. Louis, on March 4.

“We are working in close contact with public health and emergency management teams to have the best available information to be able to share with our customers and employees who might be affected,” the statement read. “Amtrak is notifying passengers and employees who may have been on the same train, and as a precaution, we have taken the train out of service for comprehensive cleaning and disinfection, and are also working to do a thorough disinfection of the Chicago and St. Louis stations.”

The St. Louis County case, according to health officials, was related to overseas travel, not from local, person-to-person contact.

Amtrak has enhanced its cleaning protocols and the number of antibacterial products on trains and at train stations. It also is waiving change fees for reservations made before April 30, but said there are no active travel restrictions.

"As we are experiencing some lower demand, we have temporarily suspended three trains that operate between New York and Washington (Trains 2401, 2402, 2403)," Amtrak stated on its website. "All three of these trains have alternative services available within 30 minutes before and after their scheduled departure."