COVID-19 CHANGES OUR WORLD

azroadhog
Mar 25, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Mar 29, 2020

A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. How contractors are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Construction can continue in New York, California and Illinois amid shutdown orders. In other regions, it's banned.

To help battle the coronavirus outbreak, governors of several states have shut down all but essential services in recent days. This has left building departments, state building associations and elected officials inundated with questions from contractors in affected areas. Heads of AEC firms of all sizes and functions, including subcontractors and architects, are looking for guidance on whether their work can proceed.

For now, it appears that the shutdowns that have been enacted so far exempt most construction activities, but with caveats. (Click here for Construction Dive's map tracking construction closures across the country.)

New York: construction can continue

For example, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “New York State on PAUSE” executive order, which went into effect last night, mandates 100% closure of all nonessential businesses and bans all nonessential gatherings. It permits skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers and other related construction firms and professionals to provide work on-site for essential infrastructure or for emergency repair and safety purposes.

According to Mike Elmendorf, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of New York State, this exemption applies to all construction in the state, per guidance from the Empire State Development Corp., a state agency tasked with supporting economic incentives.

In an email to members, Elmendorf also said that construction firms do not need to request a special designation in order to continue work. However, firms must comply with other rules, according to a ESDC fact sheet, which says that only employees who are needed to provide essential products and services are permitted to work at the business location.

Essential businesses are still required to utilize telecommuting or work from home procedures — especially for support staff — to the maximum extent possible, it states. Nonessential businesses, under which architecture primarily falls, for instance, are required to work remotely under the "stay at home" orders.

In New York City on Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is working within state parameters but that it is “important” to discuss with state officials whether all construction, such as the building of luxury condos, should remain exempt, according to the Real Deal.

Illinois and California: construction can continue

On Saturday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s statewide stay at home order went into effect in order to keep new cases of COVID-19 from rapidly increasing and to ensure the state's health care system remains fully operational to treat patients in need of urgent care. As in New York, the Illinois mandate deems construction essential and therefore allowed to continue.

A “stay at home” order enacted in California late last week does not pertain to current construction projects in the state. Although the executive order by California Gov. Gavin Newsom does not mention construction, a notice on the state’s website lists it as one of the sectors that is not affected.

There are no completely safe places. But there is, most likely, no safer place to be than a construction site typically in the middle of nowhere.

Here’s how to do it:

You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:

Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell
Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell

Don't