As planners begin resuming face to face events in 2020 and beyond, until the release of a vaccine available en masse, many will have to deal with the use of masks at their functions. Mask use and implementation will vary state by state, event by event, and especially which time of the year. However, there are pros and cons to this “new normal” of hygiene we have to be aware of in our planning community.
Excluding the unknown future state guidelines, planners have been discussing “highly recommending the use of a mask at events”. This will require the event holder to have masks to offer in case an attendee is without one, but also allowing them the freedom to bring their own as well. On the flip side there is an opportunity for brilliant marketing for sponsors and event holders alike, with branding on giveaways from masks to sanitization bottles, to gloves and everything in between.
This short term new normal will see many new event policies in place such as masks wearing, but as cases lower, time passes, and a vaccine comes closer we know these restrictions will dissipate and eventually return to normalcy as we knew it. However HopSkip views some practices such as sanitization stations being placed throughout venues, focuses on contactless registration, and other common sense practices that should’ve been in place a while ago, now being standardized. What are your thoughts as a reader?