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Various samples collected from handrails, lathes, vending machines, entrance handles, stairs and air conditioning filters have been analyzed
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Samples are also being taken on the TRAM d'Alacant at Luceros station, the station with the most passengers per day and the connection point for lines 1, 2, 3 and 4
A study carried out by the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), a research centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), in collaboration with Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) and the company G-agua, has shown that there is no trace of the coronavirus on Metrovalencia's facilities and trains. The research, presented yesterday at a press conference by Arcadi España, the Minister for Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility, was coordinated by CSIC researchers Gloria Sánchez and Xavier Querol. Samples have been collected from handrails, lathes, vending machines, entrance handles, stairs and air conditioning filters, and none of them have detected the presence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.
In total, 33 surface samples and four filter samples have been analyzed in the metro stations with the highest influx of people (Columbus and Xativa), using quantitative PCR molecular techniques, and all tests have been negative.
With regard to the trains, samples were obtained from units that ran between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and in areas with a high influx of people. The control points have been fixed on interior doors, railings, exit and entrance opening button and handle and inside the air conditioning filter trapdoor. The samples were taken to the IATA facilities for the corresponding analysis and report.
The samples were doped with a porcine coronavirus as process control, and 3 different areas of the SARS-CoV-2 genome were analyzed. The results obtained, in the opinion of the Minister Arcadi España, "confirm that the prevention, safety and hygiene measures taken by FGV are bearing fruit". The Minister, who has encouraged users to trust public transport, has warned, however, that there is no such thing as zero risk, although the Administration intends to limit this risk as much as possible, which also depends on the co-responsibility of citizens.
As Xavier Querol, CSIC research professor at the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA), pointed out, "public transport is a safe system. Before the pandemic broke out, several cities in the Valencia region were in the process of transforming to a healthier model focused on public transport to the detriment of private road traffic".
This first study will be repeated periodically as the influx of users recovers. Samples are also being taken in the TRAM d'Alacant, at Luceros station, the station that registers the most passengers daily and the connection point for lines 1, 2, 3 and 4, and on two trains, the results of which will be announced shortly.
These analyses are important to determine whether additional prevention measures are needed by the authorities. For the time being, the use of masks is mandatory, stations and mobile units are cleaned daily with bleach, hydroalcoholic gel has been installed in trains and stations, entry and exit routes have been marked and cash for the purchase of tickets has been eliminated.