DBIA’s mission is to provide the best resources available to help inform and empower our industry. In these uncertain times, that mission is even more important. As our communities fight the Coronavirus, we are working to find the best information available to help design-build teams navigate the unknown. This daily newsletter will provide the latest COVID-19 news for the AEC community.
Design-builders deliver in times of crisis and we will again.
If you have COVID-19 news impacting the AEC industry from your organization, state or community please email us.
April 10th
National
US coronavirus predictions are shifting. Here’s why-CNN. New data on the pandemic’s trajectory — from the United States and around the world — has been fed into the main projection model used by the White House almost every day. The recent downward adjustment suggests that social distancing may be working better than expected in some places.
Fauci Says U.S. Coronavirus Deaths May Be ‘More Like 60,000’; Antibody Tests On Way-NPR. The U.S. is enduring a “very bad week” during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci says. But he also says that the American public’s embrace of physical separation and other restrictions is sharply reducing projections of the death toll from the respiratory virus.
Coronavirus Latest: Major Meat Processors Shutting Down Plants As Employees Get Sick With COVID-19-CBS Philadelphia. Across the country, major meat processors are starting to shut down plants as employees are getting infected by coronavirus. Tyson suspended operations at its Columbus Junction, Iowa, pork plant this week after more than two dozen workers contracted COVID-19 there.
States
California
League of CA Cities Request Could Add Cost and Risk to Projects-Globe Street. The League of California Cities filed a letter with the governor asking him to pause statutory timelines that apply to 12 parts of state law including timing requirements essential to resolving the housing crisis.
Illinois
Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what’s happening Friday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area-Chicago Tribune. The number of coronavirus deaths in Illinois has passed 500, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the rate of increase is “looking less and less exponential” and the state may be “bending the curve.” Still, he dashed any thought that the state could be sprung from a nearly three-week-old stay-at-home order anytime soon.
Michigan
Whitmer extends Michigan’s stay home order until May 1-Detroit Free Press. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday extended the state’s “stay home” order until May 1. The order, originally handed down March 23, was initially in effect only through April 13.
New York
Coronavirus: New York has more cases than any country-BBC. The state’s confirmed caseload of COVID-19 jumped by 10,000 on Thursday to 159,937, placing it ahead of Spain (153,000 cases) and Italy (143,000).
Industry
Robins & Morton Converting Miami Beach Convention Center Into COVID-19 Field Hospital-Engineering News-Record. General contractor Robins & Morton is converting 250,000 sq ft of the Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital—including 50 isolation rooms—to meet rising demand for hospital beds in south Florida during the COVID-19 crisis.
In coronavirus crisis, US construction firms begin turning to layoffs, furloughs-Construction Dive. Only weeks into government shutdowns and shelter-in-place restrictions, a growing number of contractors have turned to layoffs and furloughs according to an online survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America.
COVID-19 Survey: Business Outlook Darkens Among Industry Firms-Engineering News-Record. With all but eight states having enacted stay-at-home orders and a growing number of cities shutting down non-essential construction, anxiety about the impact on the industry continues to rise, according to a survey conducted by Clear Seas Research and BNP Media.
Contact our editors if you have COVID-19 news impacting the AEC industry to share.