On 16 March, the Mayor of Boston, Martin Walsh, ordered all of the city’s construction projects to shut down, and said that the only work he expects to take place in the city in the next two weeks would be emergency works such as street repairs and utility services.
Walsh said his decision to shut down construction activity in Boston comes with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases having increased to 33 as of 16 March, with the expectation that those number will continue to climb quickly in the coming days.
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The ban, which took effect from 17 March, is expected to impact tens of thousands of workers and is expected to last at least 14 days.
The city of Boston has introduced several of the same restrictions as other US cities (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Seattle) since coronavirus cases started to spread. These include orders to close down bars, restaurants, libraries, and gyms, and to limit the gathering of people up to 50 or more.
As the virus spreads further, more construction site shutdowns are expected to take place across other major US cities and states in the coming days. With more schools and public services closures, construction workers would find it difficult or impossible to show up for work on time or at all, and with more people becoming infected by the virus and quarantined, all construction in these areas would also have to stop.
Overall, construction activity in the US major cities and states is expected to be severely impacted if not ceased completely over the coming days and months as local authorities take more aggressive actions to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
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By GlobalData
