Coronavirus Groton: 3 Electric Boat Workers Test Positive

GROTON, CT — Electric Boat president Kevin Graney announced more shipyard workers have tested positive for COVID-19.

First Graney said that 48 were tested and 16 were negative and results were pending for 32 workers. The following day, he said one worker tested positive. And then Wednesday, added that two more were positive.

In a memo to workers from late Wednesday, Graney said he walked the shipyard and said "not enough of us are practicing social distancing."

This is his message to employees. And this is a link to the EB podcast from its medical staff about coronavirus mitigation.

In a Patch story earlier this week, it was noted that Gov. Ned Lamont said that EB, like Pratt & Whitney, was practicing mitigation efforts to blunt the spread of COVID-19 by taking employee temperatures. That has not been done, according to a number of employees in the Groton shipyard.

EB spokesperson Liz Power told Patch that it has not been done throughout the workforce but they're working on it.

"This is something we’re looking at very seriously," Power said, adding that EB is looking to prepare for "all the associated planning and logistics" of taking the temperatures of thousands of workers.

Power said, "EB is doing all it can to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our employees. This includes efforts to reduce density in office and production areas. We have also increased frequency of cleaning in high traffic areas, postponed all large gatherings and eliminated all but very necessary business travel. We are following all CDC guidance and our medical team is working around the clock to answer questions and concerns of our employees. We are investigating additional measures, including temperature screenings."

Patch has reached out to Rep. Joe Courtney, Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and the office of Gov. Ned Lamont to address the measures being taken at EB to protect workers. When we hear back, this story will be updated.

Graney's statement:

"Today we confirmed a second and third case of COVID-19 at the Groton shipyard.
In accordance with privacy laws, we cannot release the names of the employees, but we can provide this information:
• The first individual works in the Construction Support Engineering department in Building 97.
• The individual has not been on company property since March 13.
• This person was tested at their physician’s direction on March 25.
• The individual continues to recuperate at home.
• Our incident response team is contacting employees who work near the individual or who came into close contact with the individual. Because this individual has been out of the shipyard for more than 14 days, the risk for infection to others is considered minimal.

• The second individual is a Carpenter in D252.
• The individual has not been on company property since March 20.
• This person became symptomatic on March 22 and was tested at their physician’s direction on March 23.
• The individual continues to recuperate at home.

Graney said, "Our incident response team is contacting employees who work near the individual or who came into close contact with the individual. Because this individual was not symptomatic at work, and has now been out of work for 12 days, the risk for infection to others is considered minimal."

Graney said "in both cases, these individuals recognized they were becoming ill and took the following steps:
• They made the decision to stay home, reducing risk to their co-workers.
• They sought medical attention and notified their supervisor of their potential illness.
• Most importantly, these individuals have stayed away from work while they continue to recuperate.

"As I walked through the shipyard today, I noticed that many of you are still at work, and still focused on our important mission, and I thank you for helping our team stay on task.
But I noticed something else – that not enough of us are practicing social distancing.
All of us have a very human need to interact with our families, colleagues and friends. This is also true when we are under stress – we’ve all heard the expression “there is safety in numbers” and that impulse is a very primitive instinct. It causes us to band together sometimes without even thinking about it. When we are faced with a global pandemic, the opposite is true. There is more safety in staying physically separated from each other.

Personally, I’ve been practicing social distancing, but I believe I need to do better. I’m sure I’m not alone. Starting today, any meeting I am part of will be done virtually, I will make sure that I am keeping a safe distance when I am speaking to any of you and I will be reminding you to do the same to the maximum extent practical. Let’s double down on social distancing so we can stop the spread of this disease.

By adhering to social distancing and practicing good self-protection, we can help to keep everyone who works at or supports Electric Boat safe and healthy, while we meet our obligation to continue our work as an essential part of our nation’s defense.

So, keep a safe distance. Wash your hands. Stay hydrated. Get rest when you can. And most importantly, stay home if you are sick or in close contact with an individual with COVID-19."