More of Nashville’s coronavirus cases have been traced back to construction sites than to bars, according to new data on case clusters released by the city this week. Yet bars have received far more scrutiny from the Metro Public Health Department, which does not regularly conduct its own inspections of construction sites.
The health department has the authority to fine and charge people for not complying with their orders. It’s also established guidelines for construction sites to follow, like where and when masks must be worn during construction.
But enforcement has largely been left to the Metro Codes Department, not the health department, since the codes department already has a relationship with builders. And health inspectors have plenty to police with the city’s bars and other businesses that require health permits, like gyms and salons, says Hugh Atkins of Metro Public Health.
“It’s just unsustainable to expect one segment of one agency to stay on top of all the businesses in town,” says Atkins, who oversees health inspections in town. “So it just had to happen that we had to involve other agencies.”
Codes inspectors have been given a checklist to follow, though their primary job is to sign off on electrical and structural requirements. Metro Water Services inspectors have also been deputized to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.
The city disclosed the following case clusters on construction sites:
- Montgomery Bell Academy job site — 75 cases
- Broad West Construction — 34 cases
- Lipscomb Elam Hall — 32 cases
- Grand Hyatt Hotel — 23 cases
- Rolling Mill Hill — 21 cases
Clusters with fewer than 10 cases are not disclosed by the city in an effort to protect patient privacy. Despite the outbreaks, a codes department spokesman says, so far, no construction site has been found out of compliance with city rules.
“I haven’t had that many conversations with people at construction sites,” Atkins says. “But I think the feeling is they’ve been very cooperative with all the agencies because it does them no good to have these clusters either.”
Construction Deemed Essential
Since the beginning of the pandemic, construction was considered an essential activity by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. But Nashville health officials believe they have the authority to shut down a job site that flouted COVID-19 restrictions.
Initially, the Metro Public Health Department fielded complaints about construction workers failing to wear masks, only to realize they were all eating lunch together. Atkins says he “got the word out” that contractors needed to be better about enforcing social distance at break times. He says they’ve also staggered arrival times for workers so they don’t congregate and made multiple entry and exit points to reduce crowding.
Atkins says the spread of coronavirus on large construction sites is also tied to other trends. He points to the outbreaks in immigrant households, since many of them have someone working in construction and carpooling to job sites.
The city also considers the construction site coronavirus numbers “more reliable” than those tied to bars, which have received so much attention over the last week. While there is some movement between job sites, contractors generally know who has been on their site for contact tracing purposes. Bars do not, and those who have had clusters tend to be in tourist areas.
The health department usually only hears about cases of Davidson County residents. So the agency assumes any cluster tied to a bar likely represents many more cases outside the county or even out of state.
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