As of late September, the United States had an estimated 6.8 million cases of COVID-19 and 200,275 deaths. COVID-19 has taken a toll, and workers are best off taking precautions.
But in Oregon, there have been only one or two outbreaks at construction sites. One factor may be a COVID-19 task force set up by the Oregon Building Trades Council.
Since June, the task force has been sharing and promoting best practices, and visiting construction job sites together with contractors and a representative of Oregon OSHA—to check if workers are wearing masks and socially distancing, and to see what steps employers are taking to protect them.
On Sept. 24, those efforts got some national recognition when Building Trades executive secretary Robert Camarillo and Oregon OSHA occupational health consultant Averie Foster were invited to talk about the task force at a nationwide webinar organized by the Center for Construction Reseach and Training.
