We want to help bring in-person events back safely – hence why we’ve been initiating conversations with experts, bringing ideas and recommendations to the events community, and exploring technology’s role in helping planners host safer events.
In February, Part I of our virtual event series on Pandemic Compliance and Safety at Live Events — hosted by our co-founder, Ryan Costello — looked at safety considerations for in-person events from two perspectives: the event planner’s and the public health expert’s. When you combine these two points of view, you get the best science-backed practices for event planning.
Here is the panel’s recap on the six event safety factors to consider: airflow/ventilation, masks, social distancing, duration of proximity, health screening, and sanitization.
#1: Airflow/ventilation
“Find out what your venue has done to improve airflow”
advised our panelist Mary-Ann Urbanovich, CMP-HC, meeting manager at HMP Global. Although many venues have upgraded their system, don’t assume yours has. Ask them about the filtration system they’re using. Look for venues with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council STAR™ accreditation. This credential recognizes facilities that meet standards for cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention.
As venues try to find the right balance between comfort and ventilation, you can anticipate hearing attendee complaints about cold rooms. Ah, just like the good old days! Our other panelist, Mac McCullough, Ph.D., associate professor at Arizona State University and health economist for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, predicted an increase in the popularity of temperate locations like San Diego as planners seek venues that offer comfortable outdoor spaces.
#2: Masks
Masks have become the visible symbol of the pandemic. They’re also low-hanging fruit for event safety. Everyone should wear a mask that covers and seals their nose and mouth. Two masks are better than one if a single mask allows gaps.
Because the lifespan of a mask is 8 hours, attendees must bring more than one with them each day to your event. If they arrive on site after a day of travel, provide a clean replacement mask so they can change out their compromised one.
If you suspect that compliance with your mask requirements will be a problem, treat it as a change management issue. Lay out your event’s safety rules and code of conduct on the event registration website so expectations are set well in advance. These rules ensure attendees take care of themselves and everyone else at the event. “Let them know, we do it because we care about each other,” said Mary-Ann.
Anticipate the inevitable burnout from what Mac describes as “marathon masking.” Some attendees will look for reasons to take off their masks, for example, during happy hour. Make sure everyone has fresh masks for evening activities.
#3: Social distancing
The 6-foot guideline on social distancing is an average, not the rule. The recommended distance depends on what people are doing. For example, they need more distance if they’re exercising, singing, or cheering. More distance is required in poorly ventilated rooms than in outdoor space.
Stay current on the public health guidelines at your event’s location. When cities, counties, states, and the CDC have varying guidelines, the local jurisdiction rules. Social distancing decisions now also depend on room capacity and budget constraints. You may have to adjust your expectations of what’s possible this year compared to years past.
#4: Duration of proximity
People spend time away from home at events so they can be with other people. How do you provide a safe environment for attendees to be together? If they can’t be together, they might as well stay home and watch the program virtually.
You must balance the desire for attendees to talk with each other with the responsibility to keep people apart and moving so they’re not in proximity too long. Think about ways to avoid cramped lines at registration and food and beverage stations, and thick crowds of people moving between sessions. For example, instead of having one general session for 1000 people, spread it out into three concurrent general sessions for smaller audiences. Or, instead of moving people between rooms, move speakers.
Use your event technology to prevent lines by sending out a text when it’s an attendee’s turn at a kiosk or station. Stagger arrival times for different groups, like airlines handle the boarding of their flights.
#5: Health screening
Besides any legal liability—a topic we cover in Part II of our virtual event series—event hosts have an emotional liability for attendees. You have an ethical obligation to enforce responsible attendee behavior.
The best strategy is to ask attendees to complete a health screening questionnaire similar to the one used by the CDC. Use your contactless check-in technology to ask and keep a paperless record of these questions about symptoms, travel, contact with exposed people, and testing status. Mac suggested also asking about any loss of taste or smell.
Many questions have already been raised about the legality and practicality of vaccine requirements for events since a person’s vaccination status is private medical information. Besides being a costly measure, rapid testing presents privacy concerns too. Avoid going down that road, but if you do, turn the testing over to third-party medical professionals.
Temperature checks are not foolproof. They won’t catch the asymptomatic people who are 50% of COVID-19 cases. You’ll get lots of false negatives (asymptomatic cases) and false positives (people coming in from a scorching afternoon) with temperature checks.
#6: Sanitization
Although it’s theoretically possible to pick up COVID by touching contaminated surfaces, it’s unlikely. However, you must ensure your venue partners are following surface sanitization protocol. Identify high-touch areas and stick to a sanitizing schedule. Consult first with your AV/production partners so their equipment isn’t damaged during the cleaning process.
If you follow CDC guidelines, your organization will minimize legal liability. Document everything you’re doing to address these six factors. Your intentions and actions will show that you’re trying to do the right thing and keep everyone at your event safe. In our next post, we’ll go over the legal aspects of event safety covered in Part II of our virtual event series on Pandemic Compliance and Safety at Live Events.
To learn more about Event Farm’s suite of purposely built applications to keep your event staff and attendees safe at your in-person events, click here.
P.S. Registration for Part III of the #EventSafetyPanel series is now open. Click here to learn more and join us on April 20th.