Stop Giving The Virus To Everyone!

How To Avoid Spreading COVID-19 in Events

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially
declared the Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. As horrible as this sounds, if you
have an event coming up (be it a Wedding, Dance, Party, etc), there are a
number of precautions and specific actions you can take to insure your event is
not only safe, but fun and memorable.

Meet with your venue contact to see if they have an emergency operations
coordinator or planning team. If not, what protocol do they already have in
place? Most venues have written protocol stored in a designated binder
somewhere at the venue itself. Either request a copy or request access to the
binder, so you can see exactly what strategies are outlined in case there is an
emergency or outbreak of COVID-19 at the venue itself.

Review the cancellation policy with your venue immediately. This is very
relevant if you had booked your event a year in advance and never dreamed of
having to deal with COVID-19. Look over your contract with the venue and high
light sections that you have questions about. Meet with your venue contact and
go over any NEW and UPDATED amendments to your contract in regards to
canceling, particularly in regards to the venue itself canceling your event date.
They may have created a clause (without your knowledge) that allows them to
cancel the booking, which would leave you hanging with no venue to
accommodate guests, etc. If a mandatory cancellation occurs, are you able to get
a full refund? Are you able to postpone the booking date? Will the venue attempt
to accommodate you or leave you “hanging”? Finally, do you have a backup
plan? If your current venue cancels, is there another one who may be able to
accommodate your event and guests?

Review the cancellation policy with ALL vendors involved with your event
immediately. Revisit and meet with any other vendors who you have contracted
services with in regards to a cancellation. You may have contracts with a caterer,
event coordinator, entertainer, florist, baker (for your cake), photographer, limo
driver, even event staff. Each may have different cancellation policies, so you
need to be very thorough. Just like your venue, you need to find out if any of your
vendors have created NEW policies, in case they wish to cancel on YOU.

Familiarize yourself with the local community where your event is being
held. Contact the local public health department for a copy of their outbreak
response and mitigation plan for that specific community where your venue is

located. Participate in their community-wide emergency preparedness activities,
if applicable and appropriate.

Provide COVID-19 prevention supplies at your event. Plan to have extra
supplies on hand for guests, including accessible sinks with soap, hand
sanitizers, tissues, and disposable facemasks (for persons who start having
symptoms).

Provide and promote a central source for your guests to have access to
daily updates. This could be a website, a simple webpage, a hotline, automated
text messaging or even an answering service of some sort. A variety of apps and
software (Google docs) can be useful tools to not only educate guests on how to
prevent COVID-19, but also include a clear message to those guests who get
sick to stay home.

Designated SAFE space for guests. Coordinate with your venue contact to
assure that you and your guests (and vendors) have identified a space that can
be used to isolate a guest(s) who becomes ill at your event. Work with the local
hospital to create a plan for treating guests who do not live nearby. Include a plan
for separating and caring for vulnerable guests.

Crystal clear communication. Information you share should be easily
understood by everyone attending your event. Regardless of language, culture,
or disability, you need to make sure that there are no barriers associated with
communicating COVID-10 information to guests and event staff.

These suggestions are not all inclusive, but should help you in becoming more
prepared, so you can focus on the other aspects of your event, regardless if it is
a Wedding, School Dance, Corporate Event, Holiday Party, or Private
Engagement.

More information from the CDC below: