I suspect if you took any group of 800 people who almost all traveled by air for between 8 and 25 hours from all over the world, and probably all spent what felt like way too much time in airports in each direction, and also made the conscious choice not to mask up while in close proximity with 800 other people from all over the world, we'd find a pretty similar pattern of illness. Almost everyone had close enough contact with at least 3000 people in the week surrounding Wikimania to potentially pick up COVID or any other bugs; most people would normally have contact with fewer than 100 and those potential contacts would likely be from the same geographic region. I've heard of several cases, but none amongst those who chose to wear masks at the conference, and there were quite a few mask wearers.
Speaking personally, I tested before I left, when I returned, and then 5 days after return and all were negative. I know I had multiple extended close contacts with people (including a couple in this thread! Hope you're feeling better!) while there. I'm really sorry that some folks caught COVID during their travels, but I don't think there's any reasonable chance to identify an "index patient" at Wikimania. As others have pointed out, it is increasingly difficult to obtain at-home and PCR testing - I only had home testing kits because I stocked up just before they became unavailable here, and PCR testing is usually only done if someone is sick enough for hospital admission in most countries now, even if they have a known contact. It is always, always a risk to participate in international travel and extensive contact with hundreds and thousands of people. It was a risk before COVID, and it will remain a risk long after COVID is considered an endemic illness similar to influenza. And this is a good reminder for all of us to go wash our hands. Again. Risker/Anne On Fri, 8 Sept 2023 at 20:28, Neurodivergent Netizen < [email protected]> wrote: > It would be hard to know where you picked it up from. Certainly the longer > you?re in a venue, the chances increase but you can still pick it up in > locations you may have only spent a few minutes in. > > > It’s difficult, but not impossible; contact tracing is A Thing, and can be > traced back to John Snow tracing back a cholera outbreak to a water > fountain pre-germ theory. > > I do not agree with enforcing testing, face masks and COVID vaccinations, > when countries have moved away from such restrictions. > > > A private organization, non-profit or otherwise, shouldn’t have to have > permission from the government to enforce face masks. If an organization > wants to enforce COVID precautions for their event, they should do so > without conseqeunce. This may not be what you mean, the above statement > might be more of a shrug, but such restrictions on enforcing COVID > precautions isn’t without precedent; according to AARP.org, in Florida: > > A law passed by the state legislature May 3 and signed by Gov. Ron > DeSantis May 11 permanently prohibits private businesses and government > entities from imposing mask mandates. Local governments and school systems > were already barred from establishing mask rules and other COVID-19 > restrictions under a May 2021 gubernatorial order. > > From, > > I dream of horses > > She/her > > > On Sep 8, 2023, at 4:55 PM, Robert Myers <[email protected]> > wrote: > > It would be hard to know where you picked it up from. Certainly the longer > you?re in a venue, the chances increase but you can still pick it up in > locations you may have only spent a few minutes in. > > There was an uptick in cases world wide around the time of Wikimania. I > was unable to attend due to work commitments, since my place of employment > had people off due to COVID. > > Wikimania didn?t have any requirements, it recommend ART/RAT, face masks > and to stay away from the conference if unwell > https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2023:Health. PCR tests are now > impossible to get, even if you can, they are now expensive. Though I found > ART/RAT to be relatively reliable but just not as sensitive (T line would > be faint for the first two days of symptoms), when I got COVID for the > first time in March/April this year. > > I do not agree with enforcing testing, face masks and COVID vaccinations, > when countries have moved away from such restrictions. > > -- > Robert Myers > [email protected] > > On 9 Sep 2023, at 2:01 am, Lane Rasberry <[email protected]> wrote: > > ? > I got COVID at Wikimania as did my boyfriend Fabian. Our symptoms both > began two days after the conference. I was sick in bed, hardly moving for 3 > days. Both of us have been vaccinated five times in the United States and > caught COVID one time before. > > Completely unrelated, but back in the United States our housemates got > COVID while we were gone. Also elsewhere in my town there are suddenly > people out with COVID in many places, when for some time, we had not been > experiencing cases. > > On Fri, Sep 8, 2023 at 11:03?AM Neurodivergent Netizen < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I didn't attend but I'd imagine any event with international attendees >> would have a increased chance of spreading covid, even if certain measures >> were taken to prevent that from happening. >> >> >> Nevertheless, there are measures that can be taken to reduce the >> likelihood. Honestly, I need to disclaim the following by saying I?m not >> sure what measures were taken; however, I think one of those measures >> actually was taken: I think Wikimania was a hybrid event. Requirements for >> both testing and masks might?ve helped; the more accurate COVID tests take >> a couple days to process, the rapid tests are less accurate, hence the need >> for both. Also, outdoor eating areas, along with purified and ventilated >> air indoors would also helped. Requirements for vaccination would make >> sense in a world where vaccinations were more accessible. >> >> An entirely virtual option would be ideal in the COVID situation we?re in >> (that is, a worldwide spike) would be the most ideal, but that?s impossible >> to predict. >> >> From, >> I dream of horses >> She/her >> >> >> >> >> >> On Sep 8, 2023, at 7:48 AM, Clover Moss <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> I didn't attend but I'd imagine any event with international attendees >> would have a increased chance of spreading covid, even if certain measures >> were taken to prevent that from happening. >> >> On Fri, Sept 8, 2023, 10:47 a.m. Galder Gonzalez Larra?aga < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I don't know if there's something statistically significant, but when I >>> returned home, some of my friends were with COVID, and not me. It would be >>> difficult to know if Wikimania affected people, or simply there's a spike >>> worldwide. >>> >>> Take care >>> >>> Galder >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Andreas Kolbe <[email protected]> >>> *Sent:* Friday, September 8, 2023 4:43 PM >>> *To:* Wikimedia Mailing List <[email protected]> >>> *Subject:* [Wikimedia-l] Post-Wikimania Covid cases >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I've heard from a couple of Wikimania attendees that they got ill with >>> Covid after Wikimania Singapore. >>> >>> Just wondering ? are those exceptional cases, or did this happen to a >>> substantial number of participants? >>> >>> Best, >>> Andreas >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >>> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >>> Public archives at >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/XYG2N2EQYNPHMAHHJNEBIU5SI6KJQJWT/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/GOEWPH7SFCMC4LIPDERR5XPLAUIBXRL5/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/JKRC5PSM3DZOU3EL5GXVSSCQS2AGLIR7/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > > -- > Lane Rasberry > user:bluerasberry > ????? > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/RIGLVOIWS6GPC2QPSNYQFAD25TPDTOBI/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/RZQEUMQ2KSIYPJTFE6YYY2KWJGSMSH7Q/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/ZCKSEEDIETXJAXFYA6JZID34OOLZMEJJ/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
_______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/BLWLXSPEW4UQMRJTJO6KBSP5KEXQG352/ To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
