HATTERAS – Five employees with the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division assigned to the ferry route between Hatteras and Ocracoke have tested positive for COVID-19. The five employees are recovering at home under isolation for at least 14 days. They last worked on the route Sept. 2.
Due to the temporary shortage of staff on the route, service between Hatteras and Ocracoke will be reduced starting tomorrow, until the division can safely resume normal schedules. Round trips will be reduced from 60 to 44 trips 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.
Ferry travelers are encouraged to call the Hatteras Terminal before arriving to check on schedules and estimated wait times. The ferry terminal’s number is 252-996-6000.
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 Hyde County and Carteret County health departments and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services have been notified of the positive tests.
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.