Metro officials downplayed Vice President Joe Biden’s suggestion Thursday to avoid subways amid the threat of a swine flu pandemic.
“I will be riding the system,” Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. “It is fine to ride the system.”
However, she urged riders to take precautions similar to those recommended around the world to wash hands and keep germs to oneself.
Biden’s office downplayed his comments soon after he made them. The vice president said on NBC’s “Today” show Thursday that he advised his family to stay off airplanes and subways because of the swine flu. His office quickly released a statement that the avid public transportation advocate meant people who are sick should avoid traveling in confined spaces such as subways.
Metro said earlier this week that it was disinfecting trains and rail stations daily, and hitting buses every 14 days with hospital-grade disinfectant. On Thursday, Metro decided to disinfect the buses every week instead — and could do it more frequently if the flu spreads more in the Washington area.
The agency is printing signs for rail stations and buses, urging riders to know the symptoms of the flu and to wash hands or use alcohol-based hand cleaners. The agency won’t have the signs up until mid-May, even though they are printed in-house.
“It will take two weeks to produce the signs,” Farbstein said.
The transit agency began making announcements Wednesday in stations, reminding riders to take precautions.
