The Ohio Turnpike employee who contracted COVID-19 has recovered and is planning to return to work, the Ohio Turnpike Commission said.

Other employees who may have come in contact with the infected employee were advised to self-quarantine and or seek medical attention, but none have reported the presence of any signs or symptoms of COVID-19, according to the commission.

The turnpike has continued to modify its operations in recent weeks, but still collects some cash tolls in person at 10 exits, including the one at Interstate 80 and 76 in North Jackson, where the infected employee works.

At 21 of the turnpike’s 31 exits, Automatic Payment Toll Machines, which accept bank cards and cash, are used, said Brian Newbacher, public information officer for the turnpike, in an email. Those machines prevent the need for person-to-person contact.

All 31 exits accept E-Z-Pass.

But there are still 10 exits, including the one in North Jackson, that do not have Automatic Payment Toll Machines, resulting in some people still having to hand cash to a toll taker. The turnpike encourages customers to use E-ZPass or credit card instead of cash.

Mandatory hygiene practices for toll collectors remain in effect, “and our current operating plan is to continue to use a minimal number of toll collectors for the foreseable future,” Newbacher stated.

Mandatory hygiene practices include using nitrile gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.

A person who contacted the newspaper this week said he was driving a truck through Ohio after starting in California and observed that in all of the states west of Ohio, drivers without an E-ZPass were just allowed to drive through without paying a toll.

In Ohio, a toll taker wearing gloves took his cash payment, he said.

The Ohio Turnpike does not have Open Road Tolling, which is used on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Newbacher noted. Open Road Tolling allows the Pennsylvania Turnpike to take photos of license plates and bill the customers by mail.

erunyan@tribtoday.com