COVID-19 Policy

COVID-19 Restrictions in the UK

There are currently no coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in the UK.

Before the event

Before the event, all registered participants attending RSECon24 in-person are encouraged to test for COVID-19 (such as with a rapid antigen test) less than 24 hours before arrival at the event. While we encourage testing before travelling, tests will also be available on arrival at the registration desk. We will also check temperatures on arrival using a non-contact thermometer; any attendee showing an elevated temperature will be explicitly asked to test before entry to the conference venue.

Registered participants must not attend the event in-person if they test positive for COVID-19 or are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

If you feel unwell, exhibit symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 prior to the start of the conference, please contact [email protected]. If you are able and want to participate remotely, you will be refunded the difference between an in-person and remote ticket or fully refunded for registration if no longer able to participate, where applicable.

During the event

During the event lateral flow tests will be provided to in-person attendees, who are strongly encouraged to self-test if they are feeling at all unwell during the event.

The wearing of face masks is not currently mandatory in the UK and is a personal choice. However, face masks can help reduce the chance of you spreading infection to others, especially in crowded and enclosed spaces, and may protect you from becoming infected. They can also make others who are wearing masks feel more comfortable in these spaces. In-person attendees are encouraged to bring masks to wear in these situations, and disposable medical face masks will also be provided at the registration desk.

The RSECon24 event venue is fully climate controlled and conducts regular contact cleaning and checks. Sanitiser is available throughout the venue and the cleaning team regularly disinfects communal areas.

Social distancing will not be enforced during the event, however, there will be additional rooms/spaces for participants to spread out in as they choose. A traffic light badging system (inclusive of colour vision deficiency) will also be available for in-person participants to signal what level of interaction/contact they are comfortable with if they wish, indicating for example:

• Red triangle: No contact please, keeping my distance.
• Amber circle: Limited contact please, some distance preferred.
• Green square: No social distancing necessary.

Participating in the system to indicate your interaction/contact level will be optional, however please respect those who have indicated what level of interaction/contact they are comfortable with. In addition, if someone would like a side conversation with you and requests that you wear a mask we would strongly encourage you to accommodate the request.

There is an outdoor courtyard available for participants who prefer to take their refreshments and meals outside in good weather. We recommend bringing a reusable travel mug to bring coffee and tea outside. Please note that social events will be held in external venues. Please continue to respect the interaction/contact preferences of attendees during these social events.

If any in-person participant receives a positive COVID-19 test result either during or within 48 hours after the conclusion of RSECon24, we request that they let the organisers know by emailing [email protected]. Our team will connect with the participant to offer support, ask some questions about their presence at the event and who they may have been in contact with. If you test positive during the event, you must not return to the event. If you are able, you are welcome to continue participating remotely (for example, via your hotel room), and you will be refunded for registration pro-rata based on how much of the event you were able to attend in-person.

Changes

If UK government COVID-19 restrictions are updated, these policies may be changed on limited notice as circumstances develop. If at any time this policy is less stringent than compliance with the latest UK government guidelines, the guidelines will supersede this policy.

License

This COVID-19 policy is licensed under a Creative Commons – Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license. It was amended from CW23’s Participation guidelines.