The Eurofurence Forum
Eurofurence Information => Questions & Answers => Topic started by: Quincy the Raccoon on 16.03.2020, 23:33:22
-
I don't think the Corona virus is gone overnight so here goes, what if the virus is still lingering when the con is coming in August, how to handle it with so many visitors? I sure hope the virus will be gone ofcourse by then or rather in a weakened state...
(I used the search option but as far as I can see there is no other topic about it...)
But what if the measures about limiting events are still in place, then what to do?
-
https://forum.eurofurence.org/index.php/topic,8922.0.html
-
Kind of a lackluster response, tbh. Best to make contingency plans anyway
1. For the worst case scenario, you won't have to come up with a plan when it's too late.
2. Even if it isn't needed, it will help calm people who are panicking.
-
Kind of a lackluster response, tbh. Best to make contingency plans anyway
1. For the worst case scenario, you won't have to come up with a plan when it's too late.
2. Even if it isn't needed, it will help calm people who are panicking.
Fully agree, a big con such as EF MUST have some sort of Plan B imho.
-
Please be patient. The current situation is highly dynamic. There is no simple "plan B", but a complex process of identifying potential issues, estimating their potential impact, analyzing dependencies, and setting milestones for the issues to be either resolved or requiring alternatives. Organizing a large convention is already a sophisticated task in regular times, doing so in a global crisis of unknown duration and impact even more so.
-
In case anyone has missed our tweet (https://twitter.com/eurofurence/status/1250451825934970881):
The federal government of Germany has advised its states today (2020-04-15) to extend the ban on large events until August 31st. This has not been put into law by the state of Berlin yet. We are in close contact with all our business partners and will make an announcement as soon as we have confirmation on the situation.
-
I do have a question about this. I just got an email from the airline I was going to take a flight to Berlin saying my flight is canceled due to government advisories. can I still get a refund by any chance or rollover to next year hopefully along with the boat cruise that was on the night before hand.
-
The wide range of response to the COVID-19 virus is frustrating. Europe seems to take it more seriously than most of the USA. While here it seems to be decimating the large cities of New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago, the populace at large seems to regard it as a terrible inconvenience, rather than a death-dealing plague. Many people here are off-work due to their places of work being closed, but they are not necessarily staying IN their homes, which was the point of the thing.
Me? I HAVE to work - Railroads AND Telecommunications have been deemed fields essential to the operation of civil society through the emergency, and I have a letter from the Federal Government attesting to that and asking for police to allow me through lines of closure when on railroad business, in my railroad vehicle. But so far, here in California at least, there is no Public Safety or Law Enforcement strategy aimed at enforcing Do-NOT-TRAVEL requests.
So far - Biggest Little Fur Con (BLFC) in Reno has been put off until at least Fall; and BABSCon, the MLP:FiM convention for San Francisco, has been cancelled for this year, resulting in automatic membership transfers to be issued for next year (BABSCon 2021). The Hyatt Hotel cancelled my reservation, without any penalty.
I'm still hoping for Anthrocon to take place, I think it will; the City of Pittsburgh and the VisitPittsburgh hospitality service have been doing their best to keep AC up-to-date and in the loop, but who knows how the situation and conditions turn in the next two weeks.
I am sure that EF will do the best they can, when they finally get a clear picture from city/state authorities on what the future holds; No doubt if things come to EF just being unable to take place at the Estrel on our planned dates, they will come up with a reasonable compromise - bearing in mind that not just EF, not just the Estrel, but the whole of the Hospitality and Convention Industries have suffered major business upsets over the situation. In short - EF (and by extension, WE) are not alone.
By the way - as I mentioned, I work for a major railroad in the USA. How has the European rail transport system, particularly DB, been affected by the current rules?
-
By the way - as I mentioned, I work for a major railroad in the USA. How has the European rail transport system, particularly DB, been affected by the current rules?
They finally managed to arrive in time now.
But yeah, they did cut down on lots of the connections. Traveling is only wanted to go to work, shopping or other urgent reasons. It's not completze forbidden, but they really appeal to you.
-
The wide range of response to the COVID-19 virus is frustrating. Europe seems to take it more seriously than most of the USA. While here it seems to be decimating the large cities of New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago, the populace at large seems to regard it as a terrible inconvenience, rather than a death-dealing plague. Many people here are off-work due to their places of work being closed, but they are not necessarily staying IN their homes, which was the point of the thing.
[...]
I'm still hoping for Anthrocon to take place, I think it will; the City of Pittsburgh and the VisitPittsburgh hospitality service have been doing their best to keep AC up-to-date and in the loop, but who knows how the situation and conditions turn in the next two weeks.
I'm a former Chicagoan now living in France. I have Anthrocon and Eurofurence still on my calendar this year as a dealer. And I can tell you, I agree that this disparity between US and Europe responses is frustrating.
Americans don't have the same labor protections that many Europeans do. I'm greatly simplifying things, but most businesses/governments are already required to have ~5 weeks vacation leave and extended sick leave or unemployment baked into the cost of hiring each employee. So while it hasn't been perfect, the European response has been to largely tap into those already existing social safety nets while they demand people stay at home and not work. So again, it hasn't been perfect, additional stimulus has been needed in many cases, and there's still a negative economic impact (-12% in France last I heard), but most Europeans were already protected for something like this. If you're already protected from instant homelessness/starvation, you're more likely to be willing to comply with stay at home and social distancing orders.
In the US, there's no government mandated sick or vacation leave, it's difficult even in prosperous times to qualify for unemployment insurance, access to healthcare is mostly done through health insurance provided by your employer, and most states have "at will" employment laws meaning you can walk into work on Tuesday and discover you've been let go from your job with zero notice and zero pay/severance package. And the millions of people working in restaurants and bars for a lower minimum wage than others (like $2.50/hr in some states) relying on tips to pad out their regular income are especially screwed. To have the government suddenly shut down huge swaths of the economy and demand everyone stay home when people have no sick/vacation leave, no severance pay, near-impossibility of getting unemployment insurance, and having their healthcare cut off, when so many Americans already can't afford a $500 unexpected emergency, is an especially painful blow. I can understand (but disagree) why so many Americans are desperate to just ignore the virus and get everyone working again. Work is the only thing most Americans even have.
The disparity in approaches is actually why I'm really hoping Anthrocon gets cancelled and there's still travel bans across the Atlantic (so I can get a refund on my flights). I had planned to be a dealer at AC this year and combine the trip with a visit to my folks whom I haven't seen in nearly two years. So I'm extremely upset to cancel all that, but at this rate, even if I were able to go (as a US citizen I'm allowed to return to the US whenever I want, assuming I can get a flight...), they may mandate that I be quarantined upon arrival for 2 or more weeks, which would prevent me from going to Anthrocon and cut my visit with family down to less than a week. Then I'd likely have to be quarantined getting back to France, which, if my husband joined me, would cut into the leave he'd already take for the US trip, meaning it'd likely be unpaid leave at that point, and with my income getting hit by event cancelations and being unable to ship purchases in my online shop due to most French post offices being closed, we'd come home with only lots of time lost in quarantine, no income from Anthrocon, and tighter belts for the rest of the year.
A bit of a rant on my end here but yeah, this whole situation sucks for everyone. To be clear, I'm not upset with the fact that we have to be locked down or unable to travel, and I'm not upset with whatever responses convention staff need to make to all this. They're doing their best and I can recognize what's necessary. It's just ruined the planning and incomes and family reunions of so many people. So it's unfortunate.
-
All flights leaving Canada are cancelled till the fall at the earliest. I work in the food industry and were doing a daily medical check before entering the building. As some people have been sent home with a fever as there not allowed to enter the building. I just hope everyone ok during this time and stays safe. Hopefully I can come next year and now I've been rearranging my plans to maybe go to Fur Apocalypse in October
-
So far 3 states set their event limit to 1000 attendees. We can expect other states following that example.
It's sad, but for the best.
Read and saw enough to know that I never want to have Covid19.
It causes permanent damage to the lungs, leaving you unable to do anything exhausting, maybe even unable to fursuit. Simply because you don't get enough oxygen into your body anymore. I know that kind of feeling alread thanks to another condition I had to deal with a while ago and I definitely don't want to have it again.
-
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/covid-19-klinik-im-hotel-estrel-berlin-plant-weitere-corona-behandlungszentren/25700498.html
Berlin is currently looking at using the Estrel as a COVID-19 treatment centre. Makes sense. Good transport facilities. On site facilities for staff and volunteers. And plentiful free space in the congress centre.
It doesn't exactly look promising for us at the moment.
-
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/covid-19-klinik-im-hotel-estrel-berlin-plant-weitere-corona-behandlungszentren/25700498.html
Berlin is currently looking at using the Estrel as a COVID-19 treatment centre. Makes sense. Good transport facilities. On site facilities for staff and volunteers. And plentiful free space in the congress centre.
It doesn't exactly look promising for us at the moment.
I still think EF will pull the plug for this year. It's sad, I know... :'( :-[
-
Kulturelle und sportliche Großveranstaltungen in Berlin mit mehr als 5.000 Teilnehmern bleiben wegen der Corona-Krise bis zum 24. Oktober verboten. Veranstaltungen mit mehr als 1.000 Teilnehmern dürfen bis 31. August nicht stattfinden.
https://www.rbb24.de/politik/thema/2020/coronavirus/beitraege_neu/2020/04/berlin-senat-corona-lockerungen-massnahmen-maskenpflicht.html
As expected, Berlin bans events with more than 1000 attendees until august 31. and these with more than 5000 until october 24. Now it's offiicial.
So yeah, see you next year then. :/
-
Pfouuuuuu....... Putting the EF regs in REVERSE then, money-back-guarantee? :(
-
if that is true, just let them figure it out in peace, ok? No hassle here, there are legal daggers all over it.
-
And my axe!
They cancelled the fursuit parade and the fursuit game show last year, this was the obvious next step...
Ok, that was mean, I'm sorry
-
was really looking forward to coming and finally leaving north America for once. with flights being canceled till the fall and hopefully we'll get a rollover for next year or a refund. just hope I can get the time off again next year whenever this happens.
-
Hey, now - before we all sink into a maelstrom of despair, let's remember that there are still 4 months - or one-third of a year - before our scheduled event! Granted, if things remain grim, then a decision will have to be made but there is still plenty of time to see how this all falls out.
If the population of Europe and North America do what Medical Science recommends, than we may see sufficient easing of restrictions to allow 1) international travel and 2) large assemblies of people in close space, although with such restrictions as face masks and emphasized hand sanitation practices in place (and enforced).
I'm willing to wait a month, to at least see how things are trending (and they WILL trend, either for the better, or for the world to become a charnel house), before I start thinking of cancelling any of my preparations (my big expense so far, being the cost of air transport).
Of course - if the situation (or "slope", as the case may be) does NOT show signs of improvement by then...well, we will ALL probably have much bigger problems to worry about, than just the postponement of our annual gathering. I've traded all my low performing stocks and various commodity futures, and am investing in canned goods and shotgun shells...you know - ''just in case". #p
******
The director of the WHO has declared that the the novel COVID-19 virus is a potential threat to ALL OF HUMANITY...and I have mixed feelings about that.
-
The decisions made in germany are fix and won't be changed. Which is why now all conventions, concerts, etc. are cancelled until mid fall.
-
Welp, hope was a fine thing.
See you all in 2021.
NB: There was a MIS-PRINT in Cheetah's earlier announcement. EF next year is Wednesday July 28th, to Sunday August 1st. Not the 29th to the 2nd, which was apparently a typo.