The site is located on Townsend Street in Dublin city centre.
The State’s acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that the outbreak was the “first significant cluster on a construction site to date” during the Covid-19 pandemic. There had been more than 20 cases identified with the outbreak and that a number of other workers on the building site have been tested and were awaiting results.
Speaking at the National Public Health Emergency Team briefing, Dr Glynn referred to the building site outbreak to urge employers across the construction industry and other workplaces to look at their health and safety protocols to avoid the spread of the virus.
The construction site in central Dublin was closed down temporarily on Monday after building workers tested positive for coronavirus. The building company, John Paul Construction, said initially one employee had been found to have contracted the coronavirus but following testing it has been confirmed that others were also affected.
The site involved is understood to be a hotel and apartment complex at Townsend Street in Dublin City centre.
The company said the health, safety and wellbeing of it workers and the communities in which it operated was its top priority “and we wish those affected a speedy recovery”.
In a statement, the building company John Paul Construction said: “Following confirmation that a staff member on one of our construction sites in Dublin had tested positive for Covid-19, a comprehensive testing has identified a number of additional positive cases.
“We have followed the specific advice of the HSE and the Health and Safety Authority at all times in relation to this and are assisting the HSE in arranging further tests as required.
“We have temporarily closed the site as advised by the HSE.”
