UPDATE (March 4, 2020): We wanted to provide an update given there are now six know cases of Coronavirus in the Los Angeles area. While the LA County Board of Supervisors have declared a state of emergency, the goal of that move is to acquire additional funding for prevention and planning. The Mayor of Los Angeles' office gave a statement this morning and said there is no proof of communal transmissions and importantly, that there are no plans to stop public gatherings. As always we are staying in touch with local officials and will keep on top of all developments and follow all authority guidelines to keep everyone safe. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
UPDATE (March 2, 2020): SCALE has been working with the Pasadena Convention Center to ensure the health and safety of everyone at SCALE! In addition to previous updates, PCC will doing the following:
Providing fully equipped hand-washing stations in restrooms throughout the facility and hand-sanitizer wipes at all food and beverage locations.
Routinely clean and disinfect all frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, banisters, and countertops.
Continue to follow all public health regulations at food concession stands and hosted catering food services.
Offer pre-packaged food containers and food covers at all food services.
This is in addition to the the previously mentioned hand sanitizer SCALE will provide and invidually wrapped utensils PCC will provide.
We will continue to follow up and do everything to ensure a safe and health experience for all of our attendees, sponsors, and speakers!
UPDATE (February, 29, 2020): We continue to work with the venue follow local and nation health news. The Pasadena Convention Center has agreed to individually wrap all food items, provide hand sanitizer by all food stations, and individually wrap all utensils. We've also added a link to the Pasadena Health Department's relevant pages under "Resources" below.
UPDATE (February 26, 2020): If you have been to any of the CDC Warning-level countries in the last 14 days, in accordance with US policy, we ask you not to come to SCALE. If this affects you, please get in touch with us so we may issue you a full refund.
ORIGINAL (February 13, 2020):
We've been asked whether the Coronvirus outbreak will affect SCALE. Rest assured, SCALE 18x will happen this year, on schedule!
We are keeping a close eye on both the development of Coronavirus news, authority recommendations, and what other conferences are doing. Per CDC guidelines, the risk to the American public is low, and the recommendations are normal every day preventative actions such as washing hands regularly.
At publishing time, there are only 15 cases in the US and all of them are in quarantine. The authorities have not recommended closing schools, malls, or other gathering places. As such we have no plans to cancel or otherwise change plans for SCALE. We will, however, be providing hand sanitzer at Registration and in each room for those who want them.
If you have any flu-like symptoms, we ask that you please stay home. Otherwise if you are concerned about being vulnerable, you are welcome to wear a mask. Please wash your hands frequently. The CDC tells us these are good practices whether or not there are any current outbreaks of concern.
We can't wait to see you all in a few weeks! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me.
Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Corona Virus portal
World Health Organization Coronavirus Myth Busters and Daily Situatio Reports
Johns Hopkins real-time dashboard
Pasadena Health Department Coronavirus Page
