Hello everyone, it’s Friday, November 13th.
Since October 25th, we’ve counted more than 170 new cases of COVID at Electric Boat. That is significant on its own, but when you consider that we’ve counted 370 cases since March, more than 42% of the reported cases have emerged in the last two and a half weeks.
I’m very concerned about this trend as I know you are. We understand that cases are rising in the community and that means that we cannot let our guard down—we must adhere to all of the measures we’ve been taking for the last several months.
First, don’t come to work if you are sick. We have a highly committed workforce who wants to be here every day, and you know I’m proud to work with each of you. Unfortunately, we’ve seen real-world evidence of clusters of skilled shipbuilders infected or thought to be a close contact who must be tested, because one of their co-workers came to work with symptoms. As we’ve previously discussed, we have HR policies in place that will help you be away without concern of losing paid time off. I’ll repeat — if you are sick, please stay home and get well, and call your primary care provider to determine your testing and treatment path.
Second, observe social distancing of six feet or more, especially when you’re eating. When we are eating, we don’t have our masks on, making us all more susceptible to potential infection, so it is even more important that we observe social distancing during lunch breaks. Be mindful of “regular” groups you eat with or take breaks with – make sure you are practicing social distancing. Please consider breaking into smaller groups.
Third, wear a mask or face covering. A mask is required PPE for all employees on Electric Boat property. The company has provided thousands of masks, and we can continue to provide masks if you need them. To be honest, I’ve been entertained by some of the creative masks I’ve seen on our employees. Despite living in Patriots country, you can see me wandering around the shipyard in my Bills mask. But seriously, mask wearing is a requirement. We are treating mask non-compliance the way we approach all PPE. Managers and Directors are now walking the yard regularly to enforce the standard and reinforce our expectations.
In the coming weeks, we will celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. Public health officials are recommending that we celebrate the holidays in a different way this year. If you need some information that will help you prepare to celebrate your holiday, please visit the websites of Connecticut, Rhode Island or the CDC. My wife and I have changed our traditional extended family Thanksgiving. We’ll celebrate together at home–with a much smaller turkey–and will do a brief visit with my wife’s parents, from a safe distance, later in the afternoon.
And, to repeat, if, over the holidays, you know you come into contact with someone who has or develops symptoms, please do not risk spreading the virus at EB. Stay home and see your primary care provider.
On a positive note, there’s been promising news on the vaccine. On Monday, Pfizer announced that an early analysis of its Coronavirus vaccine trial suggested the vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing the disease among trial volunteers with no serious safety concerns observed. By the end of the year, Pfizer will have manufactured enough doses to immunize 15 to 20 million people, per company executives. And it was also reported this week that early data from Moderna’s COVID-19 phase 3 vaccine trials show it to be as promising as Pfizer’s vaccine candidate. So there’s hope, which is a good thing. But even with the vaccines, there’s much to learn about COVID and how we’ll need to manage this disease in the long run.
So for now, we need to stick with what we do know. Please follow our COVID protocols. If you feel sick, stay home. Observe social distancing of six feet or more, even when you’re eating. And wear a mask.
Thanks for your cooperation and your support; we’ll talk again soon.
Kevin
