Metrolinx confirms 1st employee death from COVID-19

A 64-year-old GO Station employee is the first Metrolinx staff member to die from COVID-19, the provincial transit agency confirmed Friday night.

"It's heartbreaking news for our staff to hear as they have been coming to work every day throughout the pandemic ensuring transit customers who must travel for essential reasons can get there safely," said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins in an email statement.

The employee, who worked as a "dedicated" GO Station staff member in Toronto for 11 years, died after two weeks in hospital Friday morning.

"We have extended our deepest condolences to his wife and family and offered his colleagues our full support through this sad and challenging time," the statement continued.

Aikins said the man's job included keeping the station sanitized, which she said helped ensure others' safety.

She said it does not appear that the employee contracted the virus at work.

In a statement released Wednesday, Metrolinx said 67 staff members out of 4,300 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.