In-Person Events Don't Mandate Masks, Shots; Some Concerned

As in-person events return this summer and fall (see 2103240003), organizers are opting for relatively light-touch health precautions such as spacing out lunch breaks or sessions to try to prevent larger gatherings of attendees, they told Communications Daily in an unofficial survey of tech and telecom events. Some health experts said mandatory masks or required vaccinations for attendees would be the surest guarantee for safety. But that's not a common approach events are taking, we found.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends avoiding large events and gatherings, in guidance updated May 20. It recommends organizers do health checks such as temperature screenings and that all wear masks. The CDC urges staggered use of shared indoor spaces like dining halls and lounges. It said there's no evidence that handling food or eating is associated with spreading COVID-19, but “people sharing utensils and congregating around food service areas can pose a risk.”

Predicting a rise in cases where sizable portions of people aren't vaccinated, Stanford University infectious diseases associate professor Annie Liu said the growing number of people traveling and possibly attending conferences will carry those infections. She said the risk is even higher if the event involves international travelers, since most of the rest of the world hasn't had the vaccine access the U.S. has. Events should keep precautions that have been the norm throughout the pandemic: requiring masks and distancing, and avoiding having people share meals indoors, the expert said: If events require vaccination proof, safeguards could be loosened.

Mandatory masking or vaccinations have epidemiological value and reduce risk, but there also are social questions, said David Dowdy, Johns Hopkins University infectious disease epidemiologist. A vaccination mandate “is arguably challenging,” and masking “may put some attendees off,” he said, noting the lack of that requirement “will also put some people off.” Since outbreaks can be local, Dowdy said, it's worth taking more precautions if in the midst of even a small local outbreak. He said any events that can be held outdoors will have much lower risk.

“I wish there was an easy one-size fits all answer,” Dowdy said. He said for some events, it may not be unduly challenging to force masking and social distancing and to cap room attendance, but that could be a bigger challenge for others.

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events says exhibition organizers and venues might want to promote social distancing and designate separate entrances and exits. It says they might want to look at plans for alleviating congestion at high-volume traffic areas like registration and restrooms. Masks “may be required of persons attending the exhibition,” IAEE said in April.

ACA, NARUC

To promote social distancing at its July 18-21 meeting in Denver, NARUC will have no on-site registration -- all must be preregistered -- and the host will ask attendees in what committees they plan to participate most, said Meetings Director Michelle Malloy.

Compared with past physical meetings, breaks between panels will be longer for cleaning, plus lunch breaks will be scheduled so different groups eat at different times, Malloy said. The association won’t ask attendees if they're vaccinated, and will decide closer to the time on masking policy, she said. “We are trusting the honesty of our participants to participate per CDC guidelines.” The event will support both in-person and virtual attendance, she said. The regional Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners will pilot the hybrid approach June 27-30 in Farmington, Pennsylvania, she noted.

Most of NARUC’s Telecom Committee members plan to attend the Denver meeting in person, showed our survey. Fourteen of 22 surveyed commissioners say they will participate in person at least some time. Two said they would probably join virtually, two won’t attend at all, and one was undecided. Three didn’t respond. For our publication, one reporter plans to travel there and another will cover the meeting remotely.

Though COVID-19 remains a concern, “we are really looking forward to getting back with people” for the ACA Connects/National Cable Television Cooperative's Independent Show Oct. 4-6 in Minneapolis, ACA President Matt Polka said. The hope is that by October, the pandemic will be “less of a concern,” with growing numbers vaccinated, he said. Health precautions will include efforts to limit large groups, such as by having rolling sessions and exhibits open throughout the day to moderate traffic and to-go options for breakfasts and lunches, he said.

All events will be streamed and in person, though it's not clear yet what the virtual vs. in-person attendance might be, NCTC CEO Lou Borelli said. “I think people are anxious to get out.” Polka said attendance is typically around 1,200, and a third of that number attending in person constitutes “a great target.”

Borelli said the hope is the bulk of attendees are inoculated and those not will be masked. Masking and vaccination won't be required. “I don't think we should assume [attendees] are homogeneous [on the issue] where we can say, 'No, this is the way we want you to do it,'” Borelli said. Polka said ACA staffers are all vaccinated and the organization is encouraging them to attend, but won't require attendance for any not comfortable going.

CCA, NAB

The health precautions attendees encounter at the Competitive Carriers Association annual convention, Sept. 20-22 in Phoenix, won't be dramatic, said President Steve Berry: box lunches or plated meal service instead of open buffet lines, caps on attendance in halls, a lot of the activity including eating shifted to the exhibit floor because it allows easier distancing. He said much of that is driven by the Phoenix Convention Center, following state and CDC guidelines. Arizona has been liberalizing pandemic rules, sending CCA back to the drawing board with its plans multiple times, Berry said. Keynotes will be streamed, but the rest of the event, such as seminars and educational sessions, will be only in person, he said. The event likely won't hit pre-pandemic attendance levels because there's still some travel reluctance, but attendance is likely to surpass CCA's original estimate, he said.

With the loosening of CDC guidelines, NAB has softened some planned precautions for the NAB Show in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center Oct. 9-13. Social distancing restrictions planned for the event were halved to 3 feet, and mask wearing will be optional for the vaccinated, said Chris Brown, executive vice president-conventions and business operations. Las Vegas has no COVID-19 precautionary requirements, but Brown said keeping some restrictions in place is intended to put attendees at ease: “We don’t want people to be uncomfortable.” Brown said NAB doesn’t plan to require proof of vaccination or do temperature screening, but the situation is fluid. The lowered social distance will allow for higher capacity, he said. Cleaning protocols will remain, as will plans for contactless badge pick-up, Brown said.

Registration has been open for a few weeks, and more than 6,000 have registered, Brown said. That’s ahead of the pace of sign-ups for last year’s canceled show, which would have been in April. Registration is “outpacing our initial projections,” he said. Brown said he has seen a high level of interest in the show, though he got questions from concerned attendees about whether restaurants and other businesses in Las Vegas will be open, and whether ride-share pricing will be prohibitively high. Brown said he’s not concerned: “If any city knows how to handle big crowds, it is Vegas.”

Broadcast officials we asked uniformly said they're going. Riverfront Broadcasting Vice President Doyle Becker said he’s definitely attending, and has no reservations about COVID-19 precautions or traveling from South Dakota. “It should get back to normal,” Becker said. Broadcast engineer Tim Sawyer of T.Z. Sawyer Technical Consultants said it's important for him to see and be seen at the show. He said it's less about leads and conversations with clients and more about “reconnecting in person.”

ATSC decided to go ahead with an in-person conference Aug. 25-26 after Washington, D.C.'s relaxation of COVID-19 protocols, said President Madeleine Noland. The event will take its safety protocol lead from its venue, the Reagan Building, which currently requires visitors to wear masks. The event will be in a larger room than in past years to accommodate distancing, Noland said. She didn’t provide projected attendance, saying response has been “very strong.”

Incompas’ summit Oct. 25-27 in Las Vegas will follow CDC, local and hotel guidelines, said a spokesperson. Clark County, Nevada, lifted its pre-pandemic restrictions on capacity limits and large gatherings on June 1. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where the event will be, set up hand sanitizing stations throughout the resort and disinfection wipes at elevator lobbies. Vaccinated individuals aren't required to wear masks, and the hotel will provide face shields to non-vaccinated individuals with a “confirmed medical condition that does not permit them to wear a face mask.”

FCBA staff continues to work from home, and a decision hasn’t been made whether the FCC chairman’s dinner (usually held in December) will be in person this year, said Executive Director Kerry Loughney. “It’s one of the main questions we’re getting.”

Dos and Don'ts

Stanford's Liu said if unvaccinated, “I wouldn't even think of attending” an in-person conference but would consider it “much more strongly” if vaccinated. Even a vaccinated person should “err on the side of masking in most situations,” because of the variants that could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, she said: Being unvaccinated in a group setting can be done safely, “but the guidelines have to be pretty strict.”

Liu said masking should be required if organizers don't know the vaccination status of all attendees. In an indoor event, social distancing “is a distant, distant second” to consistent masking, she said. Liu said conference organizers should look at ways to facilitate or encourage vaccination by attendees before the event, such as links to resources and materials on the events' websites.

Johns Hopkins' Dowdy said some steps such as smaller meal gatherings make some sense since, when eating, people tend to be in the same place for longer periods without masks on, meaning higher transmission risk activity. He said having events outdoors or in open-air spaces “has more value than people think.” Conversely, vigorously repeated sanitizing of surfaces “has a little less value than people attribute to it,” since the virus is largely airborne.

“One of the big problems here is people tend to want to see this in black and white terms -- an event that is either fully restricted, you must be vaccinated, it must be outdoors, or fully open,” Dowdy said. “The right answer is probably neither of those, probably more nuanced and takes into consideration who the attendees are and where they are coming from.”

Editor's note: This is part of our ongoing coverage of the pandemic and its effects on telecom and associated sectors. Our last survey of convention plans is here. Our latest update on virtual hearings is here. Our most recent update on FCC pandemic transparency is here. And our calendar of events is at https://communicationsdaily.com/calendar.