More than a dozen COVID-19 cases at just one DC construction site

[Anonymous]

“More than a dozen COVID-19 cases have been reported at a residential construction site in Navy Yard, and it’s not the only site with concerns. Fears over the virus spreading further at the renovation of a congressional office building could lead to a shorter workweek at the site to prevent the spread of the virus.”

https://dcist.com/story/20/04/30/more-covid-19-cases-reported-at-d-c-construction-sites/

Unlike NY, NJ, PA and MI which stopped most non-essential construction (ie, other than hospitals and infrastructure), DC deemed all construction activity — including for more high-end condos and commercial space to be “essential.” Now we’re just beginning to see the cost of cronyism and short term greed in the District. This outbreak is at just one site which is managed by a large, long-established construction company that probably has more experience and resources than smaller firms to ensure safety protocols are implanted. But social distancing is nearly impossible to do in construction.

Thanks, Bowser.

[Anonymous]

Just accept it. Everyones getting this. No avoiding that.

[Anonymous]

Construction is continuing in Maryland, too. Also cronyism and greed that's Bowser's fault?

[Anonymous]

Oh stop. I’m sure you are one of the NIMBYS who goes around making housing unaffordable. You can’t just abandon job sites without major mold problems, building collapse etc.

[Anonymous]

Go ahead and ask those construction workers whether they want to keep working or take on risk of getting Covid. Most want to work.

[Anonymous]

Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

God bless you and your workers. We have a lot of road construction and construction going on in Florida. The economy was booming when Covid hit and there are a lot of signed contracts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

+1. Everytime someone gets this it does not mean we need to shut down an industry. Insist on masks and go forth and work. This is insanity around shutting things down is causing food lines and civil unrest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

+1. Everytime someone gets this it does not mean we need to shut down an industry. Insist on masks and go forth and work. This is insanity around shutting things down is causing food lines and civil unrest.

"Civil unrest" like people with guns in the Michigan statehouse? That's not civil unrest. And it's not the stay-at-home orders causing it, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

+1. Everytime someone gets this it does not mean we need to shut down an industry. Insist on masks and go forth and work. This is insanity around shutting things down is causing food lines and civil unrest.

"Civil unrest" like people with guns in the Michigan statehouse? That's not civil unrest. And it's not the stay-at-home orders causing it, either.

Okay dont call it civil. Call it unrest. I'm not calling it appropriate, but it is certainly causing it. Let people work.

[Anonymous]

Stay-at-home isn't causing it. The white-power militia orgs have been wanting a chaotic situation to exploit for a while, and have chosen this moment for a show of force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

+1. Everytime someone gets this it does not mean we need to shut down an industry. Insist on masks and go forth and work. This is insanity around shutting things down is causing food lines and civil unrest.

NP. "Insisting" won't work. Are you, and PPs above, all willing to push for requiring masks on every worker, supervisor, everyone the entire time they are on site? With actual enforcement and consequences, up to and including firing, when anyone is caught without a mask or caught wearing it improperly, shoved down off his face instead of actually covering both mouth and nose? Are you all going to lobby for a rule (with consequences) requiring that cabs of construction vehicles be appropriately wiped down between different users, especially high-touch steering wheels, gear shifts, controls etc.? Tool handles cleaned? Mandate that breaks and lunch periods be taken so that workers are not sitting together?

If the virus is spreading through a largely outdoor work site like a construction site, SOMEHOW people are infecting each other on site so are you all going to put some effort into getting employers to enforce the practices that might actually reduce some transmission? Or are you just going to talk about the economy without addressing the fact that infected workers go on to infect others who aren't on the work site, who in turn infect yet others?

I'm betting none of you will utter one peep about real, enforced protocols to the mayor's office or anyone else. Let the construction workers get infected, and infect others off the sites, as long as buildings go up, right?

I'm in favor of construction continuing. I just believe that construction companies don't give a damn about the workers or about protecting them--and by extension, everyone else--from infection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Construction is the only thing keeping my business a float.

And food on the workers table.

Thank god something is still open.

+1. Everytime someone gets this it does not mean we need to shut down an industry. Insist on masks and go forth and work. This is insanity around shutting things down is causing food lines and civil unrest.

"Civil unrest" like people with guns in the Michigan statehouse? That's not civil unrest. And it's not the stay-at-home orders causing it, either.

Okay dont call it civil. Call it unrest. I'm not calling it appropriate, but it is certainly causing it. Let people work.

Not really. It's an opportunity for the white gun nuts to be white gun nuts in public. If it weren't this, it would be something else. The efforts of the "let people work" contingent should focus on making the workplaces safe to work in, instead of forcing people to choose between working in unsafe workplaces or losing their unemployment payments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm in favor of construction continuing. I just believe that construction companies don't give a damn about the workers or about protecting them--and by extension, everyone else--from infection.

The meatpacking companies don't either.

[Anonymous]

I know in some situations many of construction workers live together as they part of a family or they are single. That could hasten the spread. While I agree non-essential construction should be shut down for the first part of the shutdown, there are some ways that companies could lessen interactions among workers so they don't have to worry about spread.

If this is true, then the construction site should be shut down until the true cause of the spread is understood.