Construction Workers Who Always Talk Sports Now Preoccupied By COVID-19
DARTMOUTH – Over the past several weeks, many people have been spending their days inside, either at home working, or laid off due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But Jerad Banyan, a Dartmouth electrician, still wakes up every weekday morning at 5 am. He feeds his two cats and dog, drinks coffee with his breakfast, then drives out to the work site in time for seven o’clock.
Jerad, along with a bunch of coworkers, has been working on a hotel renovation for the past three months.
When businesses started closing mandatorily in March, Jerad thought the hotel renovation would come to a halt. But thus far, despite some public argument to the contrary, Nova Scotia has deemed construction as essential work.
“I assumed that we’d be shutting down,” said Jerad. “I think some companies might be going a little silly with the idea of what is essential work…I think we are just essential for economic purposes.”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, every workplace has had to increase safety and sanitization measures. Jerad’s employer has given the crew a kit that contains a mask, rubber gloves, and disinfectant wipes.
Social distancing measures are also in place at the construction site. By order of the province, workers must remain six feet apart from each other. But on a construction site, where people often must work together in close quarters, that’s not always possible.
“It’s not possible to do that all the time but it’s definitely caused a change in pace,” said Banyan. “The pace of work definitely slowed down once they announced (social distancing measures), and people are more spread out. So now, instead of six people in one room, you have two people in three places.”
Jerad knows there is a possibility, despite all the new safety protocols, that he may catch COVID-19 while working.
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On March 31, construction at the St. Andrew’s Community Centre in Halifax was halted when a worker was possibly exposed to the coronavirus. Jerad, however, tries to go on with his workday without dwelling on the what-ifs.
“I think it’s definitely possible, but I wouldn’t say it’s a fear. But I think we all recognize that it’s possible that any one of us can catch it… there are some people you can tell it bothers them quite a bit. They kind of mention it every chance they get.”
It’s definitely a topic. Before we would talk about sports stats and standings and all that, and now it’s all about country (coronavirus) stats, like ‘the States today, they had 20,000 cases.”
Jerad lives in a house with his wife Samantha Bourgoin, so it’s not just his own health he must look out for. As soon as he is home in the afternoon, his work clothes go straight into the washer and he takes his shower. Other personal items, like wallet, cellphone, and keys, get wiped down with disinfectant.
“There is always a bit of worry, but I feel like we’re doing the best we can in the circumstances,” said Samantha. “So, the only other thing to do is be vigilant in regards to our health and isolate ourselves. And I know that Jerad takes all the government mandates seriously, which in turn makes me feel safer.”
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