A Guyanese-born man, who was a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus operator, died from coronavirus on Thursday in New York.
Sixty-one-year-old Oliver Cyrus drove buses for the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, a subsidiary of the MTA that operates a handful of express and local bus routes. This is according to a report from the New York Daily News on Thursday.
Guyanese-born Oliver Cyrus died from coronavirus in NY (New York Daily News photo)
Cyrus, who has been working for the MTA for 21 years, was born in Guyana and lived in Brooklyn.
The Daily News noted that it is not clear when Cyrus tested positive for the disease. However, according to the article, he is the second member of MTA’s workforce to succumb to the deadly disease.
The New York-based newspaper reported MTA officials on Wednesday revealed that 52 of the agency’s employees had tested positive for COVID-19, the same number they reported on Tuesday.
Cyrus’ death was reported hours after the MTA confirmed longtime subway conductor Peter Petrassi, 49, died from the disease.
“Oliver was well-liked by all his co-workers,” Transport Workers Union Vice President Richard David was reported saying, adding that “The workers at Manhattanville are all very upset. There’s a sombre mood at the depot.”
The New York Daily News also reported that the MTA head of buses, Craig Cipriano, said Cyrus was “loved by his friends and colleagues.”
“The men and women of New York City Transit are doing incredible work, going above and beyond the call of duty as they have done in the past,” Cipriano said in the Daily News article.
