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 9th
National
These charts show new coronavirus cases slowing in some states, while others brace for a possible surge-CNBC. Data in recent days show a slowdown in the rate of new coronavirus cases in several U.S. states, raising hopes that aggressive mitigation efforts such as social distancing and closures of schools and businesses are helping to tamp down the pandemic’s grim toll.
6.6 Million More File For Unemployment As Coronavirus Keeps Economy Shut-NPR. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits shot up again last week, as 6.6 million more people filed initial claims. About 16.8 million have filed in the past three weeks, and analysts expect the numbers to keep rising.
States
California
What California is doing right in responding to the coronavirus pandemic-CNN. California and New York had about the same number of coronavirus cases in the first week of March, but the numbers are drastically different now. Here is what California did right in response to the contagion.
New Jersey
New Jersey, Second in U.S. in COVID-19 Cases, Shuts Non-Essential Jobs-Engineering News-Record. The latest state to shut down more construction projects as an anti-COVID-19 measure is New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order on April 8 that will halt “non-essential” projects beginning April 10.
New York
Coronavirus pandemic: NY now has more reported cases than any country-NBC News. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York has reached 151,598, outpacing any country except the United States as a whole. Meanwhile, China’s leader has warned the outbreak could rebound even after the official death toll in the country plummeted and the government loosened lockdowns imposed to contain the pandemic’s spread.
Ohio
Coronavirus: 1,600 new cases per day predicted at state’s peak, Acton says-Dayton Daily News. Ohio’s early, aggressive moves to slow the spread of the coronavirus appear to be paying off with the latest model now projecting a peak of 1,600 new cases a day in mid-April — well below earlier projections of 10,000 cases a day, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Pennsylvania
‘Life-sustaining’ casino? Construction continued in South Philly despite Gov. Wolf’s coronavirus shutdown. At least two workers have tested positive-Philadelphia Inquirer. As coronavirus spread last month, and the governor ordered a halt to all but “life-sustaining” business, construction workers on the site of a new hotel and casino in South Philadelphia thought the general contractor wasn’t doing enough to protect them. Then a worker who had been on the job for two days in mid-March tested positive for COVID-19.
Industry
Post-coronavirus contingency planning for contractors, owners-Construction Dive. Developers and contractors that find their project pipelines in a stall pattern still have plenty of planning to do for the reboot of work. And whenever construction comes back to full strength, U.S. contractors will face some new short-term and long-term realities.
Designers Weigh Strategies for COVID-19 Isolation Rooms-Engineering News-Record. While several teams have quickly set up COVID-19-related field hospitals in convention centers and places of public assembly, others are working behind the scenes on longer lead time retrofits and conversions for hospitals, hotels and dormitories.
Contact our editors if you have COVID-19 news impacting the AEC industry to share.