MANILA - The MRT-3 will suspend its operations starting July 7 following the increased number of COVID-19 positive employees including depot workers and ticketing officers, its operator said Monday.

The shutdown from July 7 to July 11, will give way to the RT-PCR test of all MRT-3 personnel, maintenance provider and subcontractors "to prevent further spread of the disease," the MRT-3 said in a statement.

Thorough disinfection will also be conducted during the shutdown, it said.

"As resolved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), and following the increasing number of personnel who tested positive for COVID-19, the MRT-3 will temporarily suspend its operations starting Tuesday, 07 July 2020," the statement said.

The period may be shortened or extended depending on the pace of the swab testing and results, it said. The tests will be done by the Philippine Coast Guard, it said.

As of July 6, at least 186 MRT-3 workers tested positive for COVID-19, including 17 station personnel and 169 depot workers, Transportation Asec. Goddes Libiran said.

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The MRT-3 has over 3,200 workers and it will require at least 1,300 personnel to resume limited operations, it said.

Bus augmentation with 90 buses will be deployed by the operator to assist passengers, in addition to 150 buses for the EDSA busway service, it said.

-- with reports from Raya Capulong and Jacque Manabat, ABS-CBN News