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74 workers test positive at Nashville school construction site

A general contractor overseeing the construction of an athletics facility at a school in Nashville, Tennessee has implemented heightened safety measures after workers tested positive for Covid-19.

The number had risen to 74 by last week, city health officials said.

The company, Brasfield & Gorrie, told Nashville’s News Channel 5 that its "current policy requires everyone on our jobsite to have either received a negative test or self quarantined for the recommended period before returning to work". 

The site at the private Montgomery Bell Academy was shut down after cases emerged earlier in the month, but it has since reopened with a safety plan, including symptom and temperature screenings conducted by a third party on entry.

Nashville’s Metro Health Department told the channel that as of Wednesday, 20 May, 74 workers "across multiple sub-contractors" had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The department said: "Our epidemiologist is in regular contact with the general contractor at this site and they have been compliant with all recommendations. We continue to do contact tracing among the confirmed cases to make sure they remain isolated, as well as close contacts of the confirmed cases in an effort to stop the spread of the illness."

Image ©GCR, illustration by Denis Carrier

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