Despite social distancing and sanitizing mandates, health officials have identified cases of COVID-19 among construction workers at 13 projects in Santa Clara County.
At least 10 construction workers at a Mountain View development site have tested positive with as many as 30 total workers exposed, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said Friday. The project site has been voluntarily shut down, the department said.
Workers at two other projects in San Jose and one in Milpitas have also tested positive for the virus. Between three and five workers have tested positive at each of those sites, which have been shuttered at the request of health officials. Another nine projects have reported at least one confirmed case, health officials said.
"These cases emphasize the fact that we are still in the midst of a pandemic," County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said. "With additional sectors reopening, it is vital that everyone carefully follow social distancing protocols to ensure that workers are safe. This includes keeping physical distance and wearing a face covering."
The developers associated with the four major projects include Davis Reed Construction on the Mountain View site, Dickinson Cabinetry and CB Group Inc. on the San Jose sites, and Citizen Corp. on the Milpitas project, according to a source knowledgeable about the developments.
Messages left for the companies Friday were not immediately returned. Most construction projects involve multiple companies, including contractors and subcontractors.
The developer of the Mountain View project notified the public health department as soon as they learned of the first case, and has continued to work with public health officials, according to the health department.
Santa Clara County health officials are also investigating whether the virus has spread at the nine other sites where one worker has tested positive.
The construction industry has lobbied to keep sites open, arguing developers could enforce health restrictions at projects with temperature tests, washing stations and limited crews respecting social distancing guidelines.
State guidelines call for each site to have a supervisor in charge of enforcing health and safety rules. Many developers say they've purchased additional protective equipment for crews and taken measures to have workers regularly sanitize tools and worksites.
At least one city, Menlo Park, formed an inspection unit to regularly tour construction sites.
The county reopened construction on May 4, requiring enhanced safety measures across worksites. Large projects, for example, must provide personal protective equipment for all workers, including gloves, goggles, face shields and masks, and designate a compliance officer to ensure protocols are followed. Additional washing and sanitizing stations are also mandatory. Many sites also check worker temperatures at the start of a shift. Smaller projects have similar guidelines.
Construction workers must respect social distancing, and sanitize work areas and tools to minimize the risk of transmission, under the county's health order. The county also requires developers to stagger worker shifts to avoid overcrowding on a work site.
The State Building and Construction Trades Council had found just 22 coronavirus infections on more than 3,000 building sites across California during the first two months of the pandemic.
Bob Glover, executive officer of the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area, said no association contractors have reported cases of workers testing positive. The group's 400 members consist of home builders, contractors and suppliers to residential projects.
The developers on the Santa Clara County projects are not members of the association, he said.
Glover noted that the positive tests come as the region has begun to re-open. Workers may have contracted the virus outside of work, and brought it to the projects.
Glover said an extensive education campaign and revamped work procedures have minimized the risk. "I'm shocked," he said. "The whole reason the protocols are in place is to catch these cases before they spread."
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