Left in the dark: Albany man says he wasn’t told he travelled on virus bus

A passenger on a TransWA service from Perth to Albany says he was left in the dark about sharing a bus with a confirmed case of COVID-19. The 29-year-old Albany man, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he was a passenger on the AP1 service which left Perth at 9am on Tuesday, March 24. That bus trip became the first public transport service added to the WA Health Department’s list of locations visited by confirmed cases, which until then had only featured flights and cruise ships. The Advertiser understands the AP1 service was added to the online list on Thursday last week, with special mention of seat numbers 27-46. TransWA spokesman David Hynes said the Public Transport Authority was notified about a sick passenger the previous weekend. “We immediately provided them with a passenger manifest for their contact-tracing team to follow up as they saw necessary,” Mr Hynes said. “We were advised that they considered it to be low-risk contact.” The Albany man said he learned about the confirmed case when the Advertiser shared the information on its Facebook page. He called TransWA but was told they did not know about it, so he called the Advertiser newsroom to verify the information. He told the Advertiser he was not feeling 100 per cent and although he had mostly kept to himself, he was concerned about the people he had been in contact with. A TransWA worker later called him back to confirm that there had been a confirmed case on the bus. The 29-year-old, who had travelled to Perth to visit family, said there were not many passengers on the bus and he would have expected the health department to contact all of them. “I was on seat 19 and we were spread out, so we weren’t sitting next to anyone, but you’re still on the same bus, using the same toilet,” he said. “They could have rung me. I think they should have because this is a pretty serious thing, even just to be tested to be sure. “They quarantine everything with the ships.” Yesterday, he said he was waiting for a call from his GP with advice on what to do next. He said he did not feel sick, but he knew that not all cases of COVID-19 included severe symptoms. “Because it’s been almost 14 days hopefully he’ll say I should be fine,” he said. The WA Health Department was asked to provide details of the contact-tracing procedure for the bus service, and what advice they would give to the passengers. The department was also asked whether all passengers had been contacted — and if not, why not. The Advertiser had not received a response before its deadline. TransWA services have been reduced because of the COVID-19 crisis, but there are still buses running from Albany to Perth, Albany to Bunbury and Albany to Hopetoun. Cleaning regimes have been boosted for vehicles and booking centres, cash handling has been limited and front seats are off-limits.