FanWorks COVID-19 Policies

Effective date: 1st June 2022

COVID-19 Tracking Form

Complete this form only if you test positive for COVID-19 by or on Monday, August 29th (two weeks after the con weekend):

FanWorks 2022 Post-Con COVID-19 Tracking Form

Policy Overview

A brief overview of the policies laid out here:

  • All attendees are required to be up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations by Thursday, July 28th. Proof of vaccination must be provided on site during registration.
  • Masks will be required in all con spaces.
  • Anyone with a recent positive test result for COVID-19 will not be allowed in con spaces.
  • Attendees who receive positive test results during or up to two weeks after the con must report those results to the con. If any positive test results are reported, that information will be communicated to con attendees.
  • If you become ill during the con and are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms you cannot attribute to another health condition, you will not be allowed back into the con space.

Vaccination

All attendees are required to be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations by Thursday, July 28th, two weeks prior to the start of the con.

We are following current CDC guidance as to what "up to date" means: "all doses in the primary series [of a vaccine] and all boosters recommended for you, when eligible."

Because there hasn't been a full 2nd booster rollout, the minimum vaccination requirement for FanWorks is any/all primary doses + 1st booster. We won't be checking to see if you're eligible for a 2nd booster or not, but if you are, we strongly encourage you to get it prior to attending the con.

If you are coming to FanWorks from outside the USA, we are applying CDC guidance on vaccinations from other countries. If you will be traveling to FanWorks from outside the USA and have questions about your vaccine and con policy, you can email us at fanworkscon@gmail.com.

Proof of Vaccination

Vaccination documents must be shown at the con during registration. We prefer your actual vaccination card/record, but if you forget to bring it, we will accept a photo of your vaccine card so long as it is fully legible in the photograph. If the name on your vaccination card does not match the wallet name on your registration form, please contact us at fanworkscon@gmail.com prior to the con weekend so that we can get that worked out ahead of time.

We strongly encourage you to have your vaccination records with you during the con weekend, even if you are local to Chicago. Cook County requirements for restaurants and businesses have varied depending on the circumstances, so there is a chance that you may be required to show proof of vaccination to be served food indoors.

Masks

Attendees must wear masks in all con spaces.

"Con spaces" are considered to include:

  • All second floor event rooms: Comet, Concorde, Convair, Constellation
  • The second floor mezzanine and event room-adjacent hallways
  • The second floor public bathrooms
  • All first floor event rooms: Boeing, Lockheed

We will be treating your mask like your badge: if we see you without it in con spaces, we'll tell you to go back to your room and get it. If we have to warn you more than once to put a mask on, you will be barred from event spaces for the day.

We also require mask use in:

  • The first floor event room-adjacent hallways
  • All elevators
  • The main stairway from the first to second floor

Please note that these spaces (as well as some con spaces) are open to the public, and we cannot control whether or not members of the public are wearing masks. Hotel staff have agreed to wear masks when entering con spaces, but may not be masked in other areas of the hotel.

When Not In Con Spaces

We recommend that you wear a mask when in all public indoor areas of the hotel (including the hotel lobby), to reduce the risk of transmission from hotel guests outside of the con itself.

We also strongly recommend masking at room parties, or in any situations in which attendees may be gathered indoors to hang out.

Your hotel rooms are your space, and subject to your own masking decisions; we won't be attempting to enforce con policy in them. That said, we encourage attendees to mask in any and all group settings during the con, particularly in small spaces like hotel rooms.

Types of Acceptable Masks

Masks worn in con spaces must be well-fitted to your nose, face, and chin. Masks must be worn properly; if your mask is under your nose, we'll ask you to pull it up.

If your mask is poorly fitting and we have to ask you more than once to pull your mask up over your nose, you will be required to leave the con space until you can return with a better-fitting mask. If this becomes a recurring problem, and/or if we catch you deliberately wearing your mask under your nose, you will be barred from event spaces for the day. Please plan on having a well-fitting mask in con spaces.

We strongly recommend n95s, kn95s, or kf94s if you have them available. We understand that these aren't always broadly accessible and don't fit well for everyone, so they aren't required.

Surgical masks and cloth masks with filters are allowed, but if you are wearing these types of masks, please wear the type with nose wires (to create a seal around your nose). The CDC recommends layering these if you use them, with a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask.

Bandanas, neck gaiters, and masks with valves are not allowed. Face shields are not a substitute for wearing a mask in con spaces.

COVID-19 Tests

In the Event of a Positive Test Result

If you receive a positive test result for COVID-19 in August, either before or during the con, you will not be allowed in the con space.

Anyone sharing a hotel room with someone who has a positive test result will also not be allowed back into the con space, regardless of whether or not they are symptomatic. If you are concerned about the possibility of transmission from con roommates, we encourage booking your own room if possible.

Any attendee, con staff included, who receives a positive test result during or in the two weeks after the con is asked to fill out the con's COVID-19 reporting form.

If any positive tests are reported, that will be communicated to con attendees along with possible exposure sites and times. The con will not disclose the names / identities of attendees reporting positive test results.

We can't force anyone to share COVID-19 test results with the con, so this, like many aspects of con policy, is on the honor system. That said, if we find out you knowingly entered con space with a COVID-19 diagnosis and/or purposefully did not report a positive diagnosis during or in the two weeks after the con, you will receive an immediate lifetime ban from FanWorks events. We take community safety seriously, and we ask that as a member of that community, you do too.

Tests at the Con

FanWorks won't be requiring daily testing during the con weekend, but anyone who wishes to is encouraged to do so. We particularly recommend testing before you travel to the con if that is an option for you.

Any attendees who wish to have rapid tests available at the con are encouraged to bring their own. If you are able to do so, we strongly recommend you bring rapid tests with you, so that you have them available in case you need them.

For our safety and yours, FanWorks staff will not supply rapid tests, administer their use, interpret test results, or otherwise act as test administrators to con attendees.

If you need to take a PCR test, free testing is currently available through the state of Illinois at the Walgreens at 800 Devon Ave in Park Ridge, IL, 1.2 miles from the con hotel. (This guidance will be updated before the con to reflect the most current testing availability.)

If You Are Symptomatic At The Con

If you are feeling ill and have possible COVID-19 symptoms you cannot attribute to another health condition, please do not enter or return to con space.

We strongly encourage anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms at the con to take a rapid or PCR test, both for your own health and that of your fellow attendees. If you are symptomatic and have not been tested for COVID-19, we ask that you quarantine in your hotel room to the extent possible.

If you have a positive test result at any point during the con, you will not be able to return to con space during the weekend.

If you have a negative test result but remain symptomatic, keep in mind that rapid test results can sometimes give false negatives. Please do not enter the con space if you are symptomatic and do not have other conditions that may explain your symptoms.

If you feel unwell, rest in your hotel room and feel better, you are welcome to re-enter the con space.

If Your Roommate(s) Is Symptomatic

If you are sharing a hotel room with anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms not attributable to another health condition, but are not symptomatic yourself, we ask that you treat it as a possible exposure and isolate until/unless your roommate has a negative test result.

If your roommate has a negative test result and you are not symptomatic, you can return to the con space if you feel comfortable doing so. Please use your best judgment as to whether or not you should enter con space, and take care to remain masked when socializing in areas outside the con space.

If You Are Isolating at the Con

During the con weekend, if at any point you need to isolate in your hotel room, we encourage you to attend the con virtually if you are able to do so. All vidshows are streamed, and the online con will have its own panels, events, and opportunities to socialize.

If you miss catered meals, con staff can leave boxed meals outside your door. Outside of con catering, hotel room service and outside food delivery are options available during most of the day. All hotel rooms include kitchenettes with minifridges, microwaves, cabinets and sinks; it's not a bad idea to have things to eat on hand in case you need them.

Additional Risk Reduction Measures at the Con

We are limited to what we can do within the con space, but we will do what we can to reduce foot traffic and create distanced room seating. This is subject to change depending on the circumstances at the hotel during the con, but our current plans for event set-up include:

  • Removing every other row of seating, so that rows are more spaced out
  • Setting chairs further apart
  • Widening aisles and mobility lanes to reduce congestion between panels
  • Having two separate rooms for Premieres, so that the vidshow audience can spread out

We are looking into box fan air filtration kits for the main con spaces. For this year, we are foregoing shared food buffets and open bars; catered food will be provided as boxed meals or individually wrapped items, to be taken back to hotel rooms and eaten outside of the event space. We are also taking a year off from the Sparkle Motion dance party, vid singalong, and other crowded / high-volume events.