The tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases at a major stadium construction project in Inglewood, Los Angeles County for the LA Rams NFL football team rose to 49 on Friday, 18 July, according to the county’s public health department.
The latest total for the SoFi Stadium project, which is being carried out out by a joint venture of Turner Construction and Aecom Hunt, represents a rise of 16 new cases in a little over a week, reports The Los Angeles Times.Â
It comes amid a worrying surge in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County, which reported 17,249 confirmed new cases last week. In total, 4,084 people have died.
Last month the Times reported that the county’s public health department had opened an inquiry into the SoFi Stadium project, which has entered the final stages of construction.
In a statement seen by the Times, the contractor JV said it had a “robust mitigation program” in place, including contact tracing for confirmed and presumed cases.
It said: “To put the number of confirmed cases in perspective, over the past five months there have been in excess of 4,000 people on site.”
On the county’s Covid surge, Barbara Ferrer, director of public health, said: “We continue to see concerning data, including data that shows us that younger people are contributing to the increased spread of Covid-19. We are all experiencing the frustration from this pandemic, but I ask that we each behave with kindness and consider that we can all prevent sickness and death.”Â
Image: The Rams’ SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California, in early July 2020 (CrispyCream27/CC BY-SA 4.0)
