Readers Respond : 44 % of respondents had a co-worker test positive for COVID-19
By Joe Bousquin
to nearly 166,000 deaths .
Total coronavirus case counts continued to grow this week , with 5.2 million recorded in the U . S . since March , leading
Since the beginning of the pandemic , construction workers who were deemed essential and continued to report to work have had an increased risk of exposure to the virus , compared to office staff working remotely . While that has kept many construction workers on the payroll , it has often come with a harrowing choice between staying safe or continuing to earn money .
Last week Construction Dive asked readers how COVID-19 has personally impacted them , and for those who have tested positive for the virus , what their experience was like . Twelve percent of respondents said they had tested positive .
In addition , nearly half of our respondents , or 44 %, said that someone within their company had tested positive , and 27 % said someone on their jobsite had contracted the virus . But the third largest cohort , at 24 %, said they didn ’ t know anyone who had been infected .
A worker testing positive on a jobsite was the biggest concern among readers , at 42 %. Another 31 % said rumors of cases on their jobsites were as disconcerting as knowing they had actually occurred .
Of those who said they had tested positive for COVID-19 , 44 % said they had fully recovered , but many said they still felt lingering effects . Feelings of isolation and depression affected 11 % of respondents who dealt with the virus .
How people reacted to their own or a coworker ’ s testing positive seems to have varied by the severity of symptoms they experienced , witnessed or heard about .
“ We have had one person test positive in our company ,” one reader wrote . “ He had no symptoms other than loss of taste and smell , but other than our one employee , I do not know anyone else who has tested positive .”
4 DITCHMEN • SEPTEMBER 2020