HATTERAS, N.C. - Ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke will be reduced starting Friday after five North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division employees tested positive for COVID-19.
According to NCDOT, the five employees last worked on the route Thursday, September 2 and will recover at home under isolation for at least 14 days.
Due to the temporary staff shortage, round trips will be reduced from 60 to 44 trips a day between the two islands. The schedule will be as follows:
- Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight.
- Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight.
In addition, service from the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry route will be suspended Saturday through Monday, as staff are supporting the Hatteras-Ocracoke route.
Employees and passengers are required to wear face coverings when inside vessels and terminal facilities, regardless of vaccination status, according to requirements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Transportation Security Administration.
The vessels and the terminals at Hatteras have been cleaned and sanitized since the positive test results. Routine COVID cleaning has been ongoing at all ferry division facilities since the beginning of the pandemic.
Passengers who think they may have been exposed to the virus should contact their local health department.