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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Hafa Adai GCA Members:
There is much conversation circulating within our construction community about the construction shutdown for civilian construction projects. As an industry we need to band together more than ever to ensure there is not a wholesale closure on an entire industry for isolated incidents at a particular location. The government had already set precedence on how employees found to be positive for COVID are handled. Those particular businesses were closed for deep cleaning and employees were in that particular business were tested and quarantined to prevent further spread in the community. Why then is it that the construction industry is treated differently? In late August, COVID positive employees were discovered in remote and isolated clusters like in a barracks or jobsite, why not just shut down those specific location for deep cleaning and quarantining rather than punish an entire industry. Much like what we do today when an employee of an establishment is discovered to be positive for COVID.
In a conversation this morning with Dr. Hoa Nguyen a member of the Governor’s Medical Advisory Group earlier this month, we were informed as to the reasons for the abrupt shutdown in construction. On August 26, 2020, an employee of a construction company tested positive for COVID. From the period after that, up until September 3, 2020, that number increased to 76 positive cases, all of these cases were traced back to a cluster in a construction barracks. That is a huge increase in just a little over a 2-week period. The construction cluster total as of September 12, 2020 is now at 86 positive cases since the first COVID positive case was reported from a member of the construction industry.
Rest assured, the GCA Board of Directors is working on addressing how the industry will respond to this recent Executive Order and DPHSS Directive that paused civilian construction activity on the island. It was determined however, that military construction activity was not affected by the Governor’s EO nor the latest DPHSS Directive where the Governor lacks authority over these activities inside the fence,
The health and safety of our employees are not only a priority of the industry, but a value. The safety culture mindset is practiced daily through safety talks and hazard awareness at the jobsite. The industry itself is highly regulated to ensure best safety practices. In this CVID-19 environment, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other businesses in our industry have adopted strict protocols and procedures to slow and hopefully prevent the spread of the corona virus. With all these measures in place, there is no guarantee that a company, jobsite or even worker housing will be one hundred percent COVID-free. We all need to do our part to ensure our workers are safe and healthy so that our industry can continue building Guam for a better future. Stay safe! Stay six feet apart! Wash your hands regularly!
Dångkulu na si Yu’us ma’åse’ James A. Martinez President Guam Contractors Association
