[Coral-List] ICRS Covid Precautions

[Kristen Marhaver]

Dear Colleagues,

Regarding the covid precautions at ICRS 2022, a few folks wrote off-list
and asked me to share what I learned.

The organizers provided some information over email and I appreciate their
candid exchange (even if I was disappointed at the answers).

ICRS created a new page listing the covid precautions:
https://www.icrs2022.de/guidelines/covid-19.

The main precautions are that ICRS will provide attendees with free masks
and they recommend daily self testing, e.g, at free test centers 1-2 km
from the conference center.

The answers to my specific questions were:
Is proof of vaccination required: No. (Organizers say they have no
practical way to check this, and that unvaccinated are part of a diverse
audience.)
Are negative tests required at registration: No. (Organizers recommend
daily self testing instead.)
Are masks required: No. (Free masks are provided. But organizers say they
cannot require something the German government no longer requires.)
Is free daily testing available onsite: No. (Organizers recommend using
local test centers 1-2 km away.)
Are distancing guidelines in place: Distancing is not required. (It is up
to the individual.)
How will CO2 be monitored and how will rooms be ventilated? The venue
will use the "maximum aeration" possible.
Is registration refundable for folks who test positive in the week prior to
the event? As far as I can tell, no.

Note there is no guarantee fellow attendees will be negative at the start
of the conference.

Will this be sufficient to protect our community from covid? Here's an
example from an emergency medicine conference that became a superspreader
event when precautions were left to the individual:
https://www.statnews.com/2022/06/14/the-irony-and-ignominy-of-medical-conferences-as-superspreader-events/
.

And beyond the immediate risk, what message have we sent to the community?
Parents of young children as well as pregnant, older, and immunocompromised
folks are essentially being told that career exposure and advancement means
taking unnecessary risks with their children's health, or their own.

Given the risk landscape, let's openly acknowledge that a large portion of
our community doesn't feel safe attending, and many folks feel disappointed
and sorrowful at the lost opportunity. With covid increasingly evading our
immunity (and with monkeypox and polio now circulating) let's also commit
to working harder to protect each other in the future. The most cautious,
careful folks in coral science won't be at the event, but we need their
contributions as much as any!

With hugs,
Kristen

--

On Fri, Jun 17, 2022 at 8:56 AM Kristen Marhaver <kristenmarhaver at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> Might it be possible to find out the covid precautions in place for ICRS
> 2022? (I couldn't find them on the conference website.)
>
> Is proof of vaccination required, are negative tests required at
> registration, are masks required, is free daily testing available onsite,
> are distancing guidelines in place? How will CO2 be monitored and how will
> rooms be ventilated? Is registration refundable for folks who test positive
> in the week prior to the event?
>
> I attended a conference with most of these precautions in place and a
> less-infectious, less-immune-evasive variant circulating, and 5-10% of
> folks still caught covid and many were unable to board their flights back
> to the US. I would imagine I'm not the only person wondering about
> the precautions in place for BA.4 and BA.5.
>
> With curiosity,
> Kristen Marhaver
>