Good afternoon, everyone, this is Kevin. Today is Wednesday, April 8. (Click here for podcast.)
We now have 17 confirmed COVID 19 cases at Electric Boat, which means there have been four new cases since my last report.
As you know, in accordance with privacy laws, we cannot release the names of the employees, but we can provide this information about the new cases. They are:
• An individual at Eagle Park who was last at work on March 30.
• A New London-based employee who was last at work on March 20.
• A Groton-based employee who works in building 70 who was last at work on March 25.
All immediate coworkers of these employees have been contacted and appropriate cleaning efforts have been performed.
In addition to these new cases, our SVP Kurt Hesch has also tested positive. Kurt was tested as a precaution when I fell ill, and he reports he has none of the symptoms of COVID-19. As a precautionary measure, Kurt will work from home and will continue to monitor his health. We will strictly follow the CDC protocols to get Kurt back to work as quickly as possible. We are praying for a quick recovery for Kurt and for all of our employees who are recovering from this disease. Some good news to share with you is that we have 4 of our 17 co-workers who have tested positive returning to work next week.
You may have seen that Governor Lamont in Connecticut issued an executive order providing guidance to employers on how to keep the workplace safe. I am proud to say that we’ve already put many of these recommendations into practice at all of our EB locations, including staggering lunch times in operations areas, starting a second shift in New London, increasing our cleaning efforts in high traffic areas and encouraging working remotely and the use of teleconferencing and other technologies to substitute for in-person meetings.
As we reported yesterday, we need your help in controlling the spread of coronavirus at EB. We ask that you please take your temperature before you report to work each day. If you have a temperature of 100 degrees or greater, do not come to work. If you do not have a thermometer, we will provide a simple forehead strip thermometer to you. We have a limited supply of these simple devices and cannot supply one to every employee. Please use your own personal thermometer if you have one. If you are working remotely, please do not request a thermometer. More details on how to get a thermometer will be available shortly.
I’d like to thank those of you who have reached out to me with well wishes and concern. Your emails and texts mean more than you can imagine. The last few days have been frustrating for me because this disease tends to hang on. I am feeling better today, and I look forward to joining you back at work as soon as I am cleared to return.
Continue to practice social distancing, wash your hands often, consider wearing a mask, stay hydrated and get rest when you can. Most importantly, stay home if you are sick.
Stay tuned to Homeport and EB Landing for additional updates.
Be safe, stay healthy and please continue to take care of yourselves and your teammates.
Kevin
