Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Appalachian State Announces 16 Cases of COVID-19 Among Construction Workers

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/19/20

Appalachian State University recently learned that 16 subcontracted workers have tested positive for COVID-19. Notification came from the Appalachian District Health Department (AppHealthCare). This follows previous reporting of two other campus-related cases, one involving a university employee and the other a student who had traveled abroad.

The latest outbreak occurred on a team of people involved in a campus construction project. Although the university didn't name the project, it is in the process of constructing four new residence halls.

According to the university, the contractor "has engaged in a thorough cleaning at the job site and workers [would] remain off campus until cleared by public health to return."

When App State learned about the self-reported cases through one of its contractors, the school worked with the contractor and AppHealthCare to get testing done on all members of the work crew.

It also put into place new rules, requiring that subcontracted workers wear masks and maintain appropriate physical distance. That's already in place for university employees working on campus.

The institution said that all construction projects remained "on schedule."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Minnesota District Starts Construction on Early Childhood Learning Center

    Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools in Sauk Rapids, Minn., recently announced that construction has begun on a new early childhood learning center and a new outdoor activities complex, according to a news release.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Myrtle Grove Elementary

    Phased Construction Keeps Students on Campus During Rebuild

    When Escambia County School District needed to replace most of Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., it had three distinct challenges: honor the school's legacy in the community, bring state-of-the-art learning environments to the county, and be seamlessly built on the same site as the active school campus.