Worker finishing construction on TCU’s football stadium tests positive for coronavirus
A construction contractor working on the east-side expansion at Amon G. Carter Stadium has tested positive for coronavirus, TCU announced on Wednesday.
It’s the first reported case of COVID-19 on the Fort Worth campus that has been holding online-only classes for the last two weeks.
The school said the individual, who is employed by Turner Construction, is doing well, receiving care and recovering at home. The person last worked on campus March 24, and spent most of their shift outside.
“After the university learned of the COVID-19 positive employee at the stadium construction site, TCU temporarily halted construction campus-wide to review the contractors’ protocols to ensure they had kept pace with the evolving situation,” the school said in a statement. “Given the current pandemic, our construction partners are working hard to minimize opportunities of community spread through compliance with local and federal standards.
“For example, measures such as staggered shifts and alternate work schedules help decrease the number of people on site at any one time, simplifying requirements for social distancing.”
The area was cleared of personnel and sanitized per public health guidance.
The school said two workers who were in closest contact with the COVID-19 positive individual are currently in a 14-day quarantine and self-monitoring period. Neither of the workers are currently showing symptoms, the school said.
Construction has been deemed an essential business by the city of Fort Worth.
“Our thoughts are with the contractor and their family, and all those affected by COVID-19,” Jane Torgerson, M.D., medical director for Brown-Lupton Health Center, said in an email to campus staff. “The general risk to the TCU community from this case is considered low, given the limited exposure the individual had on campus and the work team’s adherence to CDC guidelines.”
The $100 million east-side expansion at Amon G. Carter Stadium was expected to be ready for the 2019 season, but weather delays pushed the project to 2020. The school had hoped to have an unveiling during the spring game last month, but that was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The project, which broke ground in June 2018, will include more than 1,000 club seats, 22 luxury suites, 48 loge boxes and two private clubs when complete. There will also be a 100-foot outdoor balcony overlooking Frog Alley, the TCU campus and downtown Fort Worth.
Last Friday, TCU announced that its spring commencement has been postponed until Saturday, Aug. 8. TCU has gone to online-only classes this semester since students returned from an extended spring break on March 23.
The school hasn’t made a decision whether summer courses will be online-only yet.
Coach P’s message
TCU football coach Gary Patterson posted a video message to fans encouraging them to adhere to the social distancing and CDC guidelines on Thursday.
“You know how I like defense, so we have to come up with a game plan to slow down our opponent and shut them out,” Patterson said. “Against this opponent, everybody in Texas is on the same team. So stay in, stay safe and stay healthy.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 4:42 PM.
