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Forum - View topicOtakon 2021: Convention in the Time of COVID
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2703 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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I was also at Otakon this past weekend, and there was always this feeling of "this feels weird", but I still managed to have a good time. Also, I took a COVID test the Monday after, just to be safe, and it just came back negative, so hooray for a combination of being fully vaccinated & (the wide majority of) everyone following the mask mandate! Hopefully the same can be true for as many of the other attendees as possible.
I think it was also to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center's benefit that it's just so absolutely massive (2.3 million sq ft), as outside of a few notable areas (the main concourse bridge connecting the two main buildings, the dealer's room, attending some panels, etc.) there was usually some ability to maintain some sense of distance from others for safety, combined with the mask mandate. Had Otakon still remained in Baltimore this would have been a literal impossibility. But, as Lynzee said, it was remarkable at how "normal" Otakon felt this year, considering the way the world currently is & how short-notice the convention was this time around. |
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Яeverse
 Posts: 1147 Location: Indianapolis |
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Feels to soon for a post like this
For all we know within two weeks it could come back that 50% of attendees tested postiive and 10% ended up in the hospital. (assume there is contact tracing going on). Also covid spreads in the air and can travel thanks in part to airflow, so youre doomed if you're already in a room with unmasked folks. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4673 |
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Some of it is understandable since going forward was kind of a late decision, but it is disappointing to read that something as simple as enforcing the mask policy during panels was lax. I think it could have been a requirement for each panel to begin with the speaker reminding people to wear it. You'd be surprised how many people just wait to see if somebody is going to say something about it before putting it on.
I decided to skip my local convention this year, despite the roll-over from last year and the no-refund for 2021 situation. There was already bickering on social media and forums about what could/couldn't be enforced, made worse by a largely fend-for-yourself stance from our state government. The panel rooms were going to be limited and spaced, but the hallways were going to be a problem. Even with limited capacity, the convention had briefly relocated for more space years prior, so it was already pretty questionable from the start. But the last straw was the reversal on only doing pre-registered/roll overs this year. A website post saying "good news, we're allowing a certain number of door registrations" didn't seem like good news to me. It sounded like somebody decided that there was room between the registrations and the set cap, and so they opted to go with something that brought more money but also more uncertainty into the situation. If the staff running it couldn't stay consistent on something like knowing ahead of time the maximum number of people, I guess I didn't think they could be trusted to actively enforce policies during the convention itself. |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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One thing to keep in mind about Monday’s case number is that for the past couple weeks, DC (and Virginia, don’t know about Maryland) have only been reporting cases on weekdays, so the number probably includes cases from Saturday and Sunday, and not just Monday. Looking at the cases in the area over the past few weeks, the cases numbers on Mondays would spike and then go down to about 1/3 or so afterwards. Tuesday’s case numbers had fallen to 137, in fact. That’s not to say that it isn’t concerning for those of us who live and work in the area, but the extent of it is being amplified by a quirk in how they are reporting the data. To get a better idea on how the event may have affected cases, we will need to wait for more data points to come out.
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
Exempt from Grammar Rules
Posts: 638 Location: inland US west, pretty rural |
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Glad to hear that they showed the Project A-Ko restoration. And I really hope they can release it this year, as per the past announcement. If not, then, maybe early 2022.
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5959 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Most people who go to conventions, go there to have fun. Their not there to get into angry debates with other convention goers over vaccinations, mask wearing, and social distancing. Anyone watching the news over the last several months, could easily equate speaking up; with getting into angry debates that lead to phyiscal assault and injury, and also being murdered. So it is easily understandable why a bunch of unpaid volunteers would not want to dip their toes into those turbulent waters. That includes the industry and panel guests too. Everyone want to be able to go home at the end of the day. If you want actual enforcement for mask wearing, you are going to need a physical police presence. And not just one or two officers. Perhaps you don't agree. But I think that the mere fact that no one spoke up at those panels, speaks volumes. |
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Greed1914
Posts: 4673 |
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I'm not sure it makes sense to even do it then if the stance is to just shrug and say, "oh well." At the end of the day, these are rules established by the convention itself, and traditionally those have been enforced by measures ranging up to being escorted out by law enforcement. Panel speakers briefly mentioning it would take some of the burden off the volunteers. As I see it, there would be no need to debate it or argue with people at the convention. The convention had its rules established going into it, and people attending accepted those rules by going, and they are in the wrong if they attended but did not abide by those rules. Obviously, people go to have fun, but when has that ever stopped conventions from making and enforcing rules before? |
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Calathan
 SubscriberPosts: 9113 |
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Compliance with the mask police was very good as far as I could tell. Compliance was far better in the convention center than anywhere else I've been that has had a mask policy. I didn't see any incidents in the convention center that would have required staff intervention. There also were frequent reminders that people needed to wear masks, both in the form of posted signs and announcements. I wouldn't necessarily say I felt safer in the convention center than in other places I've been (due to the large number of people and lack of social distancing), but the mask policy certainly made me feel safer than I would have felt without it.
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Dracospirit121
Posts: 95 |
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Can't say cons are back on my to do list yet. I don't mind wearing a mask all day at work... becuse its work. But lesure stuff just doesn't feel the same in a mask when your watching your distence and worrying about cleaness all the time.
And let also face it, cons are virus heaven. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5959 Location: Virginia, United States |
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If this was any other issue, you would probably be right. I agree with you and others, that it needs to be spelled out in big bold letters throughout the convention center and panel rooms. But there has to be an acknowledgement that this is not any other issue. And while I agree that the panel and event staff should make a vocal announcement at the beginning, there should also be someone present to physically intervene (and literally drag that person or persons out) if that announcement or other complaintants, set off someone. Waiting for the police to arrive, will be far too late. |
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Idgal
Posts: 169 |
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How to enforce mask wearing:
Make all attendees agree to wear mask fully when buying badges Make attendees understand that badges are property of the con and when asked , staff can inspect them anytime asked ( this is typically con policy already) If attendee are seen not wearing masks fully unless eating/drinking or following the masks rules , staff can punch hole the badge( in present of a management staff) Three punches and they will be asked to leave the con |
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Aresef
Posts: 918 Location: MD |
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I gofered at Otakon and am set to staff ANYC but speak only for myself.
I think you’re right, it felt too normal. And there’s a real conflict between canceling the dance because people get too close but still letting panels and other events fill to capacity. I’ll say that whenever I was gofering and asked someone to pull their mask up, they were generally cool with it. I think the video boards should have been used for up-to-date Otakon-specific mask guidelines. Otakon’s rules were updated at the last minute after DC’s mask mandate came down. As I said in another thread, I though attendance would basically cap itself. If I knew going in that 26,000 would be there, I might not have gone. I’m rethinking Awesomecon, that’s for sure. |
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revolutionotaku
Posts: 900 |
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Otakon has done everything they can to make this year's Otakon as safe & fun as possible (as an unvaccinated Otakon attendee who wore a mask indoors). NYC's newest "proof of vaccination" law will probably hurt NYCC & AnimeNYC financially. |
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OnePunchWeeb
Posts: 2 |
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For those of us who are vaccinated, we are sort of at a point where we have to self-evaluate what we will and won't do. Delta is dangerous, COVID was always dangerous. Most of the data, at least that I've read in reputable news sources and the like, show a pretty high effectiveness of all the vaccines approved here in the States against the variant. With masking universally required here in DC, risk compared to a lot of situations seemed pretty low to me to begin with.
That said, as someone who literally left his apartment less than 5 times between March 2020 and April 2021 (I got my vaccine in March), I'm still not really used to the idea of being in large crowds of strangers again yet. People were masked, other than some morons who haven't gotten the memo that you cover your mouth and your nose (seriously, how is this that hard to understand!). No one has mentioned that the Convention center itself was a massive Vaccination site here in D.C. Its air filtration systems and sanitation protocols are near medical grade. In fact, it's where I got my vaccine! Booths were generally well spaced, if too tightly packed inside, and I too would have liked to have seen a capacity cap in the halls and at the panels. Naturally, I concur with a number of those who have noted it really is kind not something you can expect unpaid volunteers to handle, and D.C. police aren't exactly a grand example of following COVID protocols themselves. I personally support vaccine mandates and would have supported proof of vaccination for entry. However, without a proper system for verification (one only need look at Lollapalooza for potential pratfalls of simply asking for any proof of vaccination), that's difficult to enforce and potentially difficult to require. I'm hoping D.C. will follow NY's lead in establishing a "green card" for entry to indoor venues going forward, but am not expecting much. We don't really know yet if there will be a high count of cases from the event, but as someone who has been very, very leery of large-scale events, this one was a lot better run than I honestly expected. Or at least it felt as so. I've felt fine since the event and am a neurotic about proper mask wearing and making sure my hands didn't touch my face unless I had washed or sanitized in the prior few minutes. Call me optimistic, but I don't think this convention will turn out to be a spreader event. These are confusing times, and adapting to the spikes and drops in cases and variants as we shift between the sort of "emergency" period of the pandemic and the point where it is largely eliminated from the equation is going to be a topsy-turvy, not to mention long stretch of time. I, for one, feel if this is the result of a short time-frame planned event, I actually feel more comfortable going to Awesomecon in a few weeks (week and a half to be exact). I hope I'll see some of you there! On a more personal note, it really was just nice to do something that felt "normal". Everyone I encountered was warm, welcoming, and just happy to be together again. I hope next year will bring a more normal time in our country and world, and that cons can feel more like they used to. I tend to be more of a loner and a hermit, but I've come to realize during the last year and a half how much I value people and being able to be near those who make my life richer. We need more, not less of that, conditions permitting. If you read this far, you deserve something nice. Thanks for reading my rambling two cents.[/spoiler] Last edited by OnePunchWeeb on Thu Aug 12, 2021 1:04 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Prede
 Posts: 388 |
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Vaccines are a thing and they’ve been proven to work quite well, even with all the new variants. People who are fully vaccinated are not doomed at least. I am surprised people still don’t realize it’s airborne but I think considering the amount of people who stayed masked (almost everyone) and the amount who were vaccinated , there’s no cause for alarm. And coming from someone who was there, I only once saw someone without a mask on once. And the person was yelled at repeatedly for it. I think the staff there did an amazing job, I think the attendees complied with the rules very well, and we all managed to have a lot of fun considering there is still a pandemic going on. Could otakon have done a vaccination requirement ? Sure I suppose. Would that have helped? Perhaps. But considering our country did not manage to do any sort of serious vaccination ID, there’s nothing to prove you even got vaccinated besides a tiny piece of easily faked paper. If we had some sort of ID with our photo and a verification number on it or something that be one thing, but this paper junk that is hand written is useless. At any rate I think the cause for anxiety in this article is a little overblown. There’s a lot of stuff in this article that just isn’t related to anime or the con. Some of what’s written just isn't accurate to what I saw. Plus the tone of this is less than stellar. And coming from someone who was there I think this con went quite well. They did an amazing job considering the short amount of time they had to put this together. I know it was a little weird but I enjoyed the weekend. It was nice to watch anime with fellow fans together again. |
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