As you may have noticed with last week’s 2025 convention announcement, GGC is moving from a mask mandated convention to a mask strongly recommended one. Since then, we’ve heard concerns from our community about how this policy change was communicated, especially the lack of transparency in not mentioning it directly in our newsletter or on social media. We apologize for the shock this caused. We realize that we should have announced this policy change separately and prior to ticket sales opening.
We have heard from community members reaching out via email and on our Discord to ask questions and seek more information as to why the mask policy was changed. The decision to update this policy did not come lightly.
GGC has fewer people on staff now than we did in 2019. We have struggled to fill agent roles. During the 2024 convention, we heard from attendees who were concerned with inconsistencies in how we were enforcing the mask mandate. Due to our lack of funding and volunteers, we’ve realized we are unable to improve enforcement for 2025.
Ultimately, we no longer have the resources to produce a fully masked convention. We acknowledge that the decision to move from a mask mandated convention to a mask strongly recommended will directly impact some of our most vulnerable community members and prevent them from attending GeekGirlCon. Though we can’t fully make up for changing this policy in a large way, we are trying our best to support the community in other ways.
We are requiring our staff, agents, and venue staff to continue masking, and will also be continuing to provide complimentary KN95 masks at the entrance and throughout the rest of the convention. We are actively looking into how we can support a more robust online experience during the event, including expanding our online offerings beyond streaming the main stage. Additionally, we will continue to host our mask protected community events, like our monthly book club series.
Some community members shared confusion over our choice to continue to post photos of our attendees in masks. Not only are these the most recent pictures from our last few conventions, but we firmly believe that since we will be strongly recommending masking at our 2025 convention, we need to normalize masking through our promotional materials.
We understand that this decision has impacted different parts of the community in different ways; we encourage people to continue to reach out at communityprotection@geekgirlcon.com.
While much of the outreach we have received so far has been respectful and thoughtful, unfortunately, some of it has violated our harassment policy. As such, comments have been turned off on this blog post and on associated social media posts, in order to simultaneously protect our volunteer staff from further harm and ensure all comments, questions, and ideas are funneled directly to the board. Everyone that runs GeekGirlCon, from agents to staff to the board of directors, is a volunteer. We will respond to emails we receive about this change as soon as we can in the coming days but please understand that any delay in response does not reflect a lack of appreciation or care for the emails sent. Thank you for your patience and continued support!
Here at GeekGirlCon, we care about the health and safety of everyone in our community. Currently, The greater Seattle area (and many other places in the world) is facing a battle with COVID-19, popularly referred to as Coronavirus. Now is a good time to review a few ways to keep yourself, your loved ones, and your community as safe as you can. When it comes to germs, sharing is not caring.
Wash Your Hands
This cannot be stressed enough, folks! WASH. YOUR. HANDS. Hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to stop the spread of disease. Follow these simple rules while washing your hands to give yourself the best shot at killing as many germs as possible:
Use hot running water and wet your hands.
Soap up!
Scrub your hands for 15-20 seconds. Yeah, it seems like a long time, but that’s just how long it takes to kill the germies. A good rule is to sing Happy Birthday twice. Be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, in between your fingers, and around your finger nails.
Rinse well. Don’t touch the faucet when you are done! This can re-contaminate your hands.
Get a disposable paper towel and dry your hands. Use the towel to turn off the water without touching the faucet directly.
If you can’t wash your hands, you can use hand sanitizer with a minimum 60% alcohol base, but nothing beats a good ol’ wash.
Check out this funny old video about washing your hands from the Washington Department of Health:
Description: Various people enthusiastically endorsing hand washing to a catchy tune. Video courtesy of the Washington State Department of Health
Cover Your Coughs and Sneezes
Believe it or not, there is actually a right way and a wrong way to cover a cough or sneeze. The best method is to cover your mouth with a tissue and throw it away. If you, like me, often find coughs and sneezes sneaking up on you and you don’t have time to get a tissue, then you should turn your head into the crook of your elbow. This will direct the germs away from your hands while also not spreading germy spittle across the room. Try not to cough and sneeze directly in your hands unless you have no other choice, and please wash your hands immediately.
You should cover that sneeze, little dude… Description: A kitten sneezes adorably. Image courtesy of Giphy
Don’t Touch Your Face
This is a really, really hard one. We touch our faces all the time, every day. When your eye itches, you scratch it. If you have dry lips, you put on lip balm. Do you see where this is going? Your fingers are the parts of your body that will undoubtedly come into the most contact with germy surfaces, and your face houses the mucous membranes that give germs the easiest access into your body (eyes, nose, and mouth). It is like granting bacteria VIP access to your body. I know it is hard, but please try to not touch your face.
That’s just what the germs want! Description: Will Ferrell belligerently threatens, “I’ll get inside your face!” Image courtesy of Giphy
If You Feel Sick, Please Stay Home
Through most cold and flu seasons, we are told to stay home when sick, but are kind of pressured to go about our lives as usual. It is difficult to make the decision to stay home from work or school when there is so much to be done and people who depend on you. But please, please, please stay home if you are feeling unwell. Please keep your children home from school if they are feeling sick. Trust me, no one wants them there and they don’t want to be there.
Currently, the King County Public Health Department has put out a list of Public Health Recommendations to help combat the spread of Coronavirus. They recommend trying to work from home if you can, and to avoid large gatherings of people. We should all stay calm, but be mindful of our habits and surroundings to keep ourselves and everyone else safe.
It is important to point out that, while many people get the cold and flu every year and come out of it perfectly fine, there are also many who don’t. COVID-19 is proving to be similar. While you, a reasonably healthy adult, may just have mild symptoms and will recover on your own, there are those in our society who would not. The elderly, the very young, those who are pregnant, and the immunocompromised react much more severely to common illnesses. If we have it within our power to stop the spread of diseases that may prove fatal to the most vulnerable members of our society, then we have a moral and ethical obligation to do so. So please, protect other peoples loved ones and wash your hands.
Want a little more info? Check out our previous blog post How to Conquer Con Crud for some more tips from GeekGirlCon on how to stay happy and healthy!
And also… wash your hands!
Description: A waving hand informs us that clean hands care, protect, and count. Image courtesy of Giphy
With GeekGirlCon 2019 only days away, now might be a good time to bring up something we all know and love: Con Crud! We all know what it is, but what are some ways to make sure you don’t get it? We at GeekGirlCon care about your health and well-being, so we wanted to share some tips and tricks that have worked well for us in the past, combined with some advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A healthy Con is a happy Con!
Karen gets it. Description: While talking on the phone, a young blond girl halfheartedly coughs into her balled up fist and says, “I’m sick.” Image courtesy of Giphy
General Good Health Practices:
Here are some tips that will serve you well not only before, during, and after Con, but in your everyday life as well!
Wash your hands often. Hand washing is a very effective way to prevent the spread of diseases. When washing your hands, good technique is key. Wet your hands with warm water, then scrub your hands with soap for around 20 seconds. Don’t forget areas like the back of your hands, between your fingers, or under and around your nails. Rinse your hands well and make sure they are completely dry. If you don’t have access to water and soap, alcohol based hand sanitizer will work in a pinch. For more information on when and how to wash your hands, click here.
Sub Zero should be using soap… Description: Sub Zero of Mortal Combat punches through some running water, then positions his hands under an air dryer as if preparing to strike his enemy. Image courtesy of Giphy
Stay hydrated. Water makes up most of our bodies, and it functions best when we keep replenishing the water we lose through daily living. Try to stay away from the sugary stuff if you can. Pure H2O is best.
Eat well. Food is the fuel your body uses to live, and, in terms of energy, you can only expect to get as good as you give. Try to eat healthy, nutritious foods with a good balance of vitamins and nutrients to give your body what it needs to stay healthy.
Before Con:
The best way to make sure you don’t catch anything during Con is to prepare yourself before hand. As they say, a pinch of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Get the flu shot. We hear this every flu season. Get the flu shot so you don’t get the flu. It is good advice that should be followed for personal protection against the potentially deadly virus, but there is another factor to consider when getting the flu shot. When you immunize yourself against the flu, you are also protecting those around you from catching the virus as well. Flu vaccines work on the philosophy of herd immunity, meaning the more people who are vaccinated, the more protection it offers to those in our society who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (think babies, the elderly, or people undergoing chemotherapy). This is a good thing to keep in mind when you know you will be going someplace where there are likely to be a lot of people, like Con. If you have questions or concerns about getting the flu shot, talk to your doctor. More information about the flu shot can be found here.
Take immunity boosting vitamins. It can’t hurt to shore up your immune system any way you can before going to Con. Not only can taking vitamins help boost your immune system, but it can help to give you more energy as well. Vitamin mixtures such as Airborne or Emergen-C are good options to take once a day before attending Con. Please be sure to follow dosage directions on packages.
Get lots of rest and manage your stress levels. Bodies that are sleep deprived or strung out on stress have lowered immune responses. Give yourself the best shot at not getting sick by getting some good sleep and making some time to relax or meditate. A little self care can go a long way.
During Con:
Okay, here it is! The big event! It’s going to be hard, but try not to get so carried away in all the excitement that you forget about your health! Remember that there are lots and lots of people around, each bringing with them a various mixture of germs and bacteria. Many large event spaces use air conditioning, which will dry you out faster than you might imagine, so remember to keep drinking water. Think about how you feel after getting off an airplane, and take steps to keep yourself safe.
Cover your coughs and sneezes properly. Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to cover your cough or sneeze. When you sneeze into your hands, you are getting all of the germs on your hands, which then go around touching stuff. If you feel a sneeze coming, first try to direct your body away from what you are looking at (or who you are talking to). Place your nose and mouth firmly in the crook of your elbow and let loose. Not only does your arm create a more effective barrier to flying germs, but the germs are also more likely to stay put there. For more info on correct coughing and sneezing etiquette, click here.
Wow, Sneezy. Not cool. Image: Sneezy blows away the other six dwarves with an epic sneeze explosion. Image courtesy of Giphy
Try to avoid touching your face. Even with our best efforts, our hands still come into contact with millions of germs every day, and your face is like a gateway into your body. Touching your mouth, nose, or eyes, or any of the surrounding areas is giving germs easy access. It is a tough habit to break, but keep it in mind.
Bring a small container of hand sanitizer with you. We can’t always have access to soap and water, especially when walking around a Con show floor. We touch a vendors wares, wipe a toddlers nose, sneeze, cough, then go back to touching stuff again. We are all human and we all do these things. Just try to use a bit of hand sanitizer after.
Pace yourself and know your limits. Con is exciting and you want to cram in as much cool stuff as you can! But, you should also listen to your body if it is telling you it is tired. Take a few minutes to sit and rest. Go back to your hotel and take a quick nap. Keep hydrating and eating well. If you over-tax your body, you are making it that much more vulnerable to germs.
After Con:
Just because the Con is over, that doesn’t mean you should forget about taking care of your body. This is a critical time. Sometimes it can take a few days for Con Crud to make itself known. You should keep up with hand washing and other good hygiene practices, as well as some other tricks.
REST! Your body and mind are going to be tired. Take some time to relax and recuperate. Your body will thank you for it.
If you do end up getting Con Crud after all, please stay home. It is hard to pass on germs to other people if you keep yourself away from people in the first place. Everyone will thank you for not getting them sick too. Keep resting, hydrating, and taking vitamins. If you feel like you need to see a doctor, please do.
REMEMBER: YOU KNOW YOUR BODY BEST!
That is actually sound advice, Count Rugen. Description: Count Rugen of The Princess Bride advises Prince Humperdink, “Get some rest. If you haven’t got your health, then you don’t have anything.” Image courtesy of Giphy
