Tradie who went to a work site after returning from an overseas holiday is diagnosed with coronavirus – as construction workers fight to stay employed during lockdown
- Melbourne construction worker recently tested positive to coronavirus
- Briefly returned to work earlier this month after returning home from overseas
- Work site was shut down and colleagues in close contact went into self-isolation
- Comes as the construction industry fights to remain open during lockdown
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Work has resumed on a Melbourne construction site after being recently shut down when a tradesman was diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus.
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) confirmed an employee briefly returned to work earlier this month after arriving back from overseas.
It comes as Victoria recorded its first three deaths from the virus outbreak on Thursday, which took the national death toll to 12.
The man returned home before the government enforced its compulsory 14 day self-isolation rule for returning travellers and visitors which came into effect on March 16.
A Melbourne work site was shut down earlier this month after an employee tested positive to coronavirus after returning from overseas (stock image)
‘Upon feeling unwell, he did not return to work and was tested the following day,’ a CFMEU statement released on Thursday read.
‘After receiving a positive result of COVID-19, he contacted his employer who immediately shut down the site, contacting the DHHS and the CFMEU.’
All staff working on the site were contacted immediately.
Those who were in ‘close contact’ with the infected employee went into self-isolated quarantine for 14 days and are yet to show any symptoms.
Work has since resumed at the construction site after being cleaned and decontaminated to ‘hospital-grade’ standards.
The union hasn’t revealed the construction company or project site involved or the specific dates of when the infected employee was on site.
The news comes a day after CFMEU Victoria announced the union was doing everything it can to ensure the construction industry remained open during uncertain times as the federal government looks to shut down more services to slow down the spread of the virus.
Construction is currently regarded as an essential service but will leave an additional nine per cent of Victorians out of work if the industry is shut down.
The construction industry is fighting to remain alive during the coronavirus lockdown. Pictured are construction workers obeying the 1.5metre social distancing rules at an on site work meeting in Melbourne
‘We have put extreme health and safety measures in place to protect you and our industry,’ state secretary John Setka said in a statement.
‘There’s a lot of misinformation and confusion about this situation … There are a lot of rumours about the construction industry closing down, or being locked down.
‘We are doing everything in our power – together with the other construction unions and the employer organisations – to be as proactive in keeping our industry and your jobs safe and secure.
‘In the event of an industry lockdown, if it comes to that, we have put into place, together with the employers, an emergency plan, for the members to be able to access some of their funds to get emergency financial relief.
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) confirmed an employee briefly returned to work earlier this month after arriving back from overseas (stock image)
The CFMEU has also updated its regulations for work sites, including the 1.5 metre social distance rule now in force.
The union posted a photo of the social distancing rules being followed by Laing O’Rourke workers at an inner Melbourne site in Toorak.
‘This is what many sites are doing. If yours isn’t taking precautions, then you aren’t being looked after,’ the Facebook post read.