Contractors' mask practices vary, but residents can close the door if they feel uncomfortable

Apr. 17—Howard Bernstein's boiler was belching out carbon monoxide at his Westmont home, but he was also nervous about the lack of COVID-19 precautions that would be taken by the contractor whom he called to schedule a visit.

"They said, 'I wouldn't worry about (COVID),' " he said.

" 'I wouldn't worry about it?' — What do you mean? Your people are working in peoples homes, interacting and could unknowingly bring COVID-19 into my home, and you are not worrying about this?"

Bernstein said his predicament happened in the early days of the pandemic. The contractor said his employees would wear a mask if Bernstein wanted.

"But that statement tells me you are not requiring it," he said. "And that makes me more nervous."

Despite that phone conversation, Bernstein said he eventually caved in and got his boiler serviced because of the risk of putting it off.

Since last year, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has asked people to obey an order for wearing face coverings in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The department hasn't veered from the order, and when asked about scenarios where contractors visit people's homes but might not want to wear masks, the department stressed the primacy of homeowner's wishes.

"All employees should wear a mask, unless they fall under an exception of the order," Maggi Barton, deputy press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said in an email.

"However, regardless of the orders in place, an individual can refuse anyone from entry into their own home if they wish," she said.

Rich Hudec, who owns 15 rental properties in Johnstown, said people he's hired for repairs have had masks available, but haven't been too strict on wearing them.

"I think everyone is getting more casual about things," he said.

"Some will have (a mask) on no matter what. Others will let the other person dictate what the policy will be. They take the lead from the tenant."

'Protect ourselves and them'

On the job at a house in Westmont recently, Daniel Omasta, president of Concrete & Masonry Unlimited Inc., said keeping six feet apart from customers is ingrained in him.

But he works outside a lot, so he prefers not to wear a mask all the time.

He takes subtle cues to put on a mask: the type of job, the age of his customers and whether they are wearing masks, Omasta said.

"People don't have to tell me," he said. "I have enough respect to do it myself."

ServiceMaster by Johnstown Construction is called to homes frequently for emergency repair jobs, and the company's employees always show up at people's doors with masks on, operating manager Barry Himes said.

With vaccinations made available this month to all adults statewide, customers have become less concerned, he said.

"Lately, they'll say, 'Hey, I got the shot. I'm good. You can take it off if you like to,' " he said.

"We do wear masks. We have to. We are going to people's houses. We want to protect ourselves and them."

In many cases, there are more than one company at a commercial construction site, which can complicate COVID-19 protocol.

Bernstein is president of Penn Installations, a commercial interior contractor based in Summerhill.

His company is usually a subcontractor working under a general contractor.

"I only have control within our company setting," he said.

"We are typically on jobs where we are one of many."

General contractors sometimes pass the buck by including clauses in agreements that all subcontractors should comply with CDC guidelines, Bernstein said. That frees the general contractor from liability for an outbreak they could have prevented, he said.

"We've seen good and bad," he said. "In the commercial world, there are people who put in hand-washing stations and give temperature checks, and then you have others who say 'sign here' suggesting you are responsible for any issues."

Bernstein said he's always advised his workers not to put themselves at undue risk. The same rule applies with the virus, he said.

There have been more than 560,000 deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States, the CDC's data shows.

Cambria County is in the midst of a surge of cases. The daily COVID-19 caseload increased by triple digits this week for the first time since mid-January.

Additionally, statewide, Pennsylvania is among about a dozen states with more than 750 cases of the virus labeled by the CDC as "variants of concern."

To Bernstein, those statistics are hard to ignore. He's said he's astounded when he walks into a store and sees people not wearing a face covering.

"Seeing it spread, seeing variants, all we are doing is prolonging this," he said.