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.
August 20th
National
New Covid-19 cases are declining across the US, official says, but that could quickly change if people aren’t careful-CNN. States across the US are now seeing a decline in coronavirus cases, but a US top official warned things could quickly change again if Americans aren’t careful. At least 20 states are seeing a downward trend in new cases compared to the previous week while 18 states are reporting a steady number of new cases.
Coronavirus is spreading in schools, but the federal government isn’t keeping count-NBC News. There’s no official national tally of school-linked COVID-19 cases, and some states are not reporting their COVID-10 statistics. Instead, they are leaving it up to local officials to decide which information to make public and which information to share more narrowly with affected students and families.
States
COVID-19 hit Northeast states hard. Here’s what they’re doing to prepare for a surge-USA Today. After all the death and suffering, the Northeast has the lowest infection rates in the country. But now, it’s bracing for a second surge of COVID-19, taking as many precautions and preparing for what could come.
Georgia, Texas and Florida lead the country in coronavirus cases per capita-CNN. After adjusting for population, Georgia has reported the most cases per day over a seven-day average of any state, followed by Texas and Florida. The states are led by governors who pushed to reopen during the spring, saw major summer surges of cases and are currently pushing to reopen schools.
Florida
Florida surpasses 10,000 coronavirus deaths-The Hill. On Wednesday, Florida surpassed 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to state figures. The state reported 174 new deaths Wednesday, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 10,067. California, New York, Texas and New Jersey are the only other states whose COVID-19 fatalities have reached five digits.
Georgia
Experts react after Georgia named top state for exposure to COVID-19-WSAV-TV. Two new health models say you’re more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 in Georgia than anywhere else in the country. The health models, from Georgia Tech and the Harvard Global Health Institute, rank Georgia first, meaning that “people across the state of Georgia are at higher risk for contracting COVID in counties across our state than they are in any other state in the country” according to one health expert.
Industry
Infrastructure starts plummet 31% in July, other sectors make small gains-Construction Dive. Total construction starts sank 7% from June to July, pulled down by a staggering 31% decline in the nonbuilding sector, according to a recent report. In addition, the nonresidential sector gained 3% and residential starts increased 2% in July. Through the first seven months of 2020, total construction starts were down 15% as compared to 2019.
Nonresidential construction industry won’t start growing again until next year’s third quarter-Building Design+Construction. The negative impact of the coronavirus is expected to result in nonresidential construction declining by 10% to 15% this year. That decline is also expected to lower construction costs by 2% to 5%. Those are some of the predictions in JLL’s Construction Outlook for the second half of 2020.
Contact our editors if you have COVID-19 news impacting the AEC industry to share.