These are my thoughts:
- has the situation improved since we last talked about this?
- have we absorbed the biggest?
- ...
Alex
Le 25/02/2020 à 00:41, Arleen Elliott a écrit :
Thoughts
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Further update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and IETF 107 Vancouver
From: IETF Executive Director <exec-director@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Feb 24, 2020, 6:34 PM
To: IETF Announcement List <ietf-announce@xxxxxxxx>
As IETF 107 Vancouver approaches we thought it would be useful to update
you on our planning around COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and the potential
impact on this meeting.
Before that, it is worth noting that registrations for the meeting are
at a good level [1] and continue to grow in line with expectations.
Our policy regarding the risk to health posed by COVID-19 is that we
will follow public health guidelines for events of this nature, in
particular those of the World Health Organisation [2] and the Public
Health Agency of Canada [3]. Neither of those bodies recommend
cancelling meetings of this nature but they do recommend some specific
planning [4] and we are following those recommendations.
Accordingly, the following special measures are being put into place for
IETF 107 in Vancouver.
1. Measures to prevent transmission by surface contact:
- We will provide all in-person participants with hand sanitizer and
surface wipes free of charge.
- Surface wipes will be available in multiple rooms for cleaning any
shared equipment or surfaces, such as microphones and door handles.
- We are exploring changes to blue sheets, including online
alternatives, rather than pass a sheet and pen around.
- We’re going to ask that you do not feel obliged to shake hands with
anyone and also do not feel offended if anyone declines to do so.
- Buses for the social event (which is still being planned) will leave
at staggered intervals and also have wipes available.
2. Measures for anyone who feels unwell to prevent them spreading
infection:
- We are setting aside a room as an isolation room supplied with masks
and a thermometer for anyone who feels ill during the meeting.
- We are making arrangements with a local clinic so that we can call a
doctor to attend to anyone in self-imposed isolation to minimise their
travel through communal areas.
3. Voluntary travel guidelines for travellers from China (the meeting
host, Huawei, is discussing this topic with other companies based in China):
- Only staff from provinces where travel is allowed and on a whitelist
of those who have had their health monitored for a number of weeks will
participate in-person at the meeting.
- Some in-person participants, including the Huawei employees based in
China, plan to arrive 7 days early, monitoring any symptoms before
attending the meeting.
- The number of in-person participants will be reduced to essential
travellers with the rest participating remotely.
4. (As previously advised) Changes to our cancellation policy
- Anyone who is unable to attend due to government imposed travel
restrictions will be eligible for a full refund.
- We will continue with the normal policy of providing a full refund to
anyone who is unable to travel due to visa issues.
We understand that some people are very concerned about the risk to
health, that some other events have been cancelled or switched to a
remote-only model and that some companies are putting corporate travel
restrictions into place. However, it remains our view that there are
significant risks in both under-reacting and over-reacting to this
complex and developing situation, and as we are not epidemiologists or
public health experts we will follow the evidence-based advice of those
that are.
Following the same reasoning, we will not be offering full refunds in
the event of someone being unable to travel due to corporate
restrictions and the cancellation fee will still apply. Full details of
our registration policy for IETF 107 Vancouver are available on our
website [5].
Finally, we are working on a backup plan for a fully remote meeting
should we need to cancel the in-person meeting, but there are a number
of logistical challenges to overcome.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or
comments.
[1] https://www.ietf.org/registration/ietf107/attendance.py
[2] https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
[3]
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
[4] https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1269109/retrieve
[5]
https://www.ietf.org/how/meetings/107/ietf107-special-registration-provisions/
--
Jay Daley
IETF Executive Director
exec-director@xxxxxxxx
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