Health & Safety

Mask Mandate

In order to best protect everybody’s health, masks will be required to be worn at the event. Exceptions are in outdoor spaces and while eating food and beverage indoors when socially distanced from other participants. Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth and must be made of a tight-knit, non-permeable material. KN95 or N95 masks are recommended. Cloth masks are acceptable. Bandanas, scarfs, and gators are not permitted to be used as masks. Speakers will not be required to wear masks while presenting. Participants should provide their own masks for the event, though extras will be available at event registration and information desks, as well as the event zone entrance areas for those that need them.

Vaccine Requirement

Vaccine Requirement
In-person attendees will be required to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Fully vaccinated is defined as two weeks (14 full days) after the final dose of a government-approved vaccine.

Accepted Vaccines
All vaccines approved for emergency or full use by the World Health Organization will be accepted for in-person attendance at this event. These currently include vaccines listed here. This list will be updated as new vaccines are accepted.

Vaccine Verification
Event participants will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to be admitted to the event. Details on how to present proof of vaccination will be added to this page at least one month prior to the event.

Daily Temperature Checks

All event participants will receive a daily temperature check in order to enter the ‘event zone.’ This will only be required once a day; a badge sticker will be provided each day after temperature check so that participants can enter/exit the event zone as needed without additional checks.

Abide by Other Participants’ Social Distance Comfort Levels

We will provide wristbands in green, yellow, and red for event participants to wear in order to indicate their preference on social distancing comfort level. Participants are asked to be respectful of each other’s comfort level on social distance.

Once you’ve completed the vaccine verification, you’ll proceed to pick up your badge. Once a participant receives their badge, that will be considered their proof of vaccination for the duration of the event. Please note that attendees will need their badge at all times and badges cannot be re-issued.

The following protocols will be in place at the event. Additions will be made as deemed necessary for participant safety.

• Mask mandate, except when outdoors, when eating and drinking in designated areas or when delivering a conference talk 
• Vaccine requirement
• Daily temperature checks
• Daily COVID-19 symptom survey through vaccine verification app (optional but encouraged)
• Wristbands indicating comfort levels for social interaction onsite (optional but encouraged)
• Signage throughout the event indicating required health and safety protocols and encouraging hand washing, social distancing, etc.
• Outdoor areas for mask breaks and eating/drinking and indoor eating/drinking areas with individual seating in socially distanced areas
• Reduced conference room capacities with wider aisles and distanced seating 
• More physical space in conference rooms between speaker and attendees to allow speakers to give their talks without wearing masks, while keeping attendees at a safe distance
• Wider aisles in the exhibit hall with booths spaced apart. Event participants are asked to not crowd around booths and to limit the number of attendees at a booth at any given time.
• Wider aisles and increased traffic flow signage throughout the event zone to allow for physical distancing
• Rigorous onsite cleaning and sanitizing of all touch points including cleaning of each badge check-in station between participants
• Pre-packaged food and beverage wherever possible
• Anyone serving food and beverage will be required to wear gloves in addition to a mask
• Sanitizing speaker microphones between each speaker’s use
• Plentiful sanitation stations onsite with alcohol-based hand sanitizer, wipes, and tissue
• Personal hand sanitizer bottles and wipes will be available for those participants that would like them

At a minimum, we will be following all mandated venue, municipality, and CDC guidelines. This list, and all protocols, are subject to change as the fluid COVID-19 situation changes. 

Event Participants will be required to show proof of vaccination in order to be admitted to the event. There are 2 options to provide vaccine verification to attend the event. The following are acceptable ways to provide proof of vaccination:

OPTION 1

Digital pass issued by any government entity that clearly shows proof of vaccination/vaccination record. Proof must be viewable by our staff without scanning a QR code and needs to show:

a. Recipient’s name (matching that of the event participant)
b. Vaccine manufacturer
c. Date(s) vaccine(s) was/were given, indicating the number of doses necessary along with the number given (e.g., 1 of 1 OR 1 of 2 AND 2 of 2)

OPTION 2

Printed certificate/pass/card issued by any government entity that meets the same guidelines as above.

Please bring a government-issued photo ID (matching that of the vaccine documentation). You can use any option you choose to provide proof of vaccination, but you must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the event. If you have any questions about the three options provided above, email us at events@linuxfoundation.org. 

While we’re hopeful this doesn’t apply to any of our event participants, please note that the use of fraudulent vaccine records is strictly forbidden. If anyone is caught using fraudulent documentation to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine, they will be reported to the local authorities and will be banned from participating in any future Linux Foundation or LF project events.

What should I do if I am onsite and not feeling well?

If you aren’t feeling well, please watch for COVID-19 symptoms. Depending on your symptoms and how unwell you feel, please go to the nearest testing facility, urgent care, or hospital. Please follow the CDC guidelines on when you should seek medical attention if you are showing COVID-19 symptoms.

Should you end up testing positive:

• Follow the CDC guidelines on what to do if you get sick. 
• Please follow the guidance of the testing facility, urgent care, or hospital that you visited in order to best protect yourself, as well as the community. The facility at which you test positive will notify the Department of Health if deemed necessary by local guidelines for contact tracing purposes.
• You will not be able to return to the event.
• Email Angela Brown, SVP & GM of Events, at angela@linuxfoundation.org, to let us know. While we will need to let event participants know that someone onsite tested positive for COVID-19, we will not disclose your name. We will ask attendees to monitor their own symptoms and follow CDC recommendations on what to do if they may have been around a person who had COVID-19

We are consulting with Dr. Joel Selanikio, a physician and former CDC epidemiologist + outbreak investigator, to do our best to ensure the health and safety of our onsite participants and minimize all risks. Dr. Selanikio served as a consultant epidemiologist to the DC Department of Health and to FEMA for the COVID-19 response over 2020-21.

We are also working closely with the local Department of Health to ensure we are following all local requirements and recommendations. We continue to follow all CDC guidelines in addition to those of the local government and venue. 

About COVID-19: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19.html

When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html

Large Gatherings: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/large-gatherings.html

Updated Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated Individuals (7/28/21): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html