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.
May 8th
National
State-by-State Business Reopening Guidance-US Chamber of Commerce. The US Chamber has released a state-by-state map of reopening rules.
Airports Start Requiring Masks for All Travelers and Staff-Route 50. The measure is one of many changes airports are making in hopes of improving safety.
One For The History Books: 14.7% Unemployment, 20.5 Million Jobs Wiped Away-NPR. The Labor Department delivered a historically bad employment report Friday. The US lost approximately 20.5 million jobs last month as the nation locked down against the coronavirus. The jobless rate soared to 14.7% — the highest level since the Great Depression.
States
California
A ‘new reality’: California takes cautious first steps in reopening plan-The Guardian. California took its first cautious steps towards reopening, seven weeks after the state became one of the first to order its residents to stay at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Bay Area construction opens to new set of rules and guidance-Construction Dive. Construction resumed Monday in six San Francisco Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley, California, under new protocols for safety and worker distancing, but job sites won’t look quite the same as they did before the coronavirus outbreak hit.
Massachusetts
Boston Relaxes Construction Ban But Limits Work To Essential Projects-WBUR. Boston’s ban on most kinds of construction is loosening, enabling some work to resume under new requirements. Many projects that the state considers essential have been stalled for weeks, like housing projects and other developments, as the city took stricter measures against the coronavirus.
Michigan
Michigan construction, real estate industries re-open today after coronavirus shutdowns-Michigan Live. Michigan’s construction, real estate and other “low-risk” industries have gotten the go-ahead to restart business May 7. Previously deemed nonessential commercial activity, suspended real estate and nonessential construction has been suspended since March 23.
New Jersey
Coronavirus in N.J.: What is reopening? Beaches, construction sites, curbside businesses may be next-NJ.com. Gov. Phil Murphy says he is considering allowing more New Jersey businesses to reopen with curbside service or other social-distancing guidelines. He gave a glimpse of what could come next after he extended the public health emergency by 30 days this week.
Industry
New Design-Build Poll Takes Industry’s Pulse as We Enter New COVID-19 Phase – DBIA. The Design-Build Institute of America has released it’s second industry poll to gather an updated look at the industry and its current challenges and future needs as businesses consider returning to work.
5 valuable questions building engineers will be asking after COVID-19-Building Design+ Construction. A big question we’re sorting through during this pandemic is: what will be the new normal in the post-COVID-19 world, and to what extent will the way we interact with the built environment change? Right now, this isn’t a question that can be answered precisely right now. And that is difficult for the practical, fact-based, to-the-point engineers.
Viewpoint: Let’s Build Our Way Back-Engineering News-Record. The industry that engineers, builds, finances and operates American infrastructure has an unusual opportunity during this pandemic. The industry could make the duration of the current recession shorter by leading the charge to achieve rapid economic recovery, robust job creation and sustained economic growth.
The future of construction and AEC for a post-COVID-19 world-Construction Global. The construction industry wants to embrace remote working to help reduce costs. Whether it’s in the short-term or the long-term, this current pandemic has shown that a lot more work can be done remotely than previously thought.
Contact our editors if you have COVID-19 news impacting the AEC industry to share.