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Ozark Regional Transit on Friday began limiting the number of bus passengers to nine people in response to the governor’s most recent social distancing measure.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson this week issued a temporary ban on gatherings of more than 10 people as part of an ongoing effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.

ORT officials said in order to comply with the directive, only nine passengers would be allowed on each bus since the driver would be the 10th person on board.

“In cases where there are more than the maximum allowable at a stop, the operator will notify the prospective passengers that the bus has attained the maximum allowable and the remaining passengers must wait until the next bus,” officials said in a statement.

The measure only affects ORT’s fixed routes, and does not impact ADA/paratransit, demand response or on-demand passengers.

As of Friday night, the number of positive coronavirus cases in Arkansas was 386, according to the state Department of Health.