The 1918 influenza pandemic first erupted in France during World War I, having migrated from birds to pigs housed in factory-type farms and then to soldiers. It ravaged soldiers on army bases across the U.S.
As current and projected demand for added hospital beds to care for COVID-19 patients reaches dire levels in parts of the U.S., contractors are helping health care systems and governments explore a variety of ways to address the shortages.
President Donald Trump says he backs legislation to launch a mammoth infrastructure investment program, in a follow-up bill to the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act (see p. 8).
Six Bay Area counties announced Tuesday that most construction is to be halted due to a tightened, joint shelter-in-place order. Meanwhile, Los Angeles issues new site safety guidelines and additional site inspections based on public reports of violations.
UPDATE: Non-essential jobsites must close, effective now, except key infrastructure, medical facilities, and affordable housing, with time to insure projects are 'safely stabilized,' state said March 27; NY reports more than 60,000 cases and 965 deaths as of Mar. 30