WINDSOR, ONT. -- Despite the lockdown, some people still require help from getting one place to another.
Leaving the possibility of spreading COVID-19 to the person behind the wheel.
“My job is not very safe, but you know, everybody has gotta bring food to the family,” says Bogand Herbetko, a taxi driver for Vets Cab.
He believes he may have caught COVID-19 from one of his customers.
“We’re trying to pick up all the people, trying to bring the people home from the hospital, from all places,” says Herbetko.
For the last two weeks, Herbetko says he’s only been to two places- home and work.
The latter could be anywhere given his job as a taxi driver.
According to Herbetko, one of the many pickups along the way included patients who were discharged from Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met Campus.
“Whatever I’ve been doing the last two weeks, it came to my mind that it’s gotta be this but I cannot say for sure,” he said.
Shortly after, Herbetko says he started having symptoms of the novel coronavirus.
“I got no taste, I got no energy, I got no smell,” he said.
The symptoms were so bad, he called 911 and was admitted to hospital.
He tested positive for COVID-19.
After being discharged from Met Campus, Herbetko himself declined a ride home from a taxi service.
“I said no. I’m not gonna get in taxi. I don’t wanna infect fellow coworkers,” he said.
In a statement to CTV Windsor, Windsor Regional Hospital says:
“When a patient is discharged from WRH, whether they have had COVID or not, and whether they have symptoms or not, that patient should obviously follow the same recommendations provided by the health unit as any other resident in Windsor-Essex – wear a mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing.”
Moe Abouzeeni represents Vets Cab drivers with Unifor Local 195.
He is concerned about more drivers possibly catching the virus.
“I spoke to the company on the issue and they’ve promised that they will be talking to the hospital and I believe they did,” Abouzeen said.
Earlier this year, Vets Cab reassured passengers new COVID-19 protocols were in place, such as plexiglass separating the driver from the passenger.
“I was always wearing mask. I was always asking people to do the same,” Herbetko tells CTV News. “This is not (the) fault of my company or my union or somebody else. This just happened to me.”
CTV Windsor reached out to Vets Cab for comment but did not hear back before news time.