COVID-19 has not disappeared. As of this writing (Sept 29, 2023), over 4,500 people per day are being hospitalized in the United States, and the weekly death toll has increased to over 1,000. We are meeting in Minneapolis in October. This means that not only the conference, but most other activities will take place indoors, where the risk of COVID transmission is greatest.
We believe that our community is a caring one, that we want everyone who come together in person in Minneapolis to have not just a productive and fun experience, but also a safe one. We have several requests to help achieve this goal:
- If possible, test for COVID prior to traveling to the conference. Note that if you live in the U.S., currently you can get a few free tests. And consider bringing a test or two with you in the event that you feel at all unwell during the conference.
- If you are feeling ill (and especially if you experience symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, a sore throat, or a runny nose), stay in your hotel room, and do not come to the conference venue. It doesn’t matter whether this is COVID or not – whatever it is, you don’t want to expose others to it! (And you should take it easy and recover for your own sake.) You still will be able to view conference talks via the livestream and participate via the digital platform. If you are a presenter, we’ll make it possible for you to shift to doing your presentation remotely.
- When you are attending a conference session, we encourage you to wear a high-quality mask. We also suggest that you consider masking in other crowded areas, for example, when picking up food. As for masks, we continue to recommend FFP2 or KN95 products, but a surgical mask is much better than no mask at all.
- Respect the boundaries of other people, and remember that different people are able to take on different levels of risk.
And of course, having a recent COVID vaccination both protects you and decreases the chance you can transmit infection to others.
In the event that you test positive for COVID or are otherwise unwell and unable to travel to the conference, contact reg2023@cscw.acm.org for adjustment to a virtual registration.
If you think this policy is too strict: Please be reminded that COVID continues to put disabled and immunocompromised people at significant health risks, that the long-term consequences of repeat infection for all of us are yet to be known, and that Long COVID can affect all of us. Staying safe should not just be an individual choice and burden – we see it as a community effort, and we want to create a welcoming space for as many people as possible.
If you think this policy is not strict enough: Our conference policies need to align with local rules and regulations and will be updated accordingly. Currently, there are no masking or vaccination requirements in Minneapolis, Minnesota, or the United States generally. We need to be transparent about what attendees can expect when attending in person to allow everyone to make informed decisions about their mode of attendance, and we do not want to promise a mask mandate that would be impossible to enforce on the ground.