Health & Safety FAQs

Our event has been organized in accordance with the CDC’s guidelines, Informa’s AllSecure Health and Safety standards and in partnership with Encore Boston Harbor, a Sharecare VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide property. FEI is requiring all participants and support staff to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative results from a COVID-19 test administered with 72 hours of arrival prior to entering the event. All event staff will wear masks at all times during all indoor activities; mask wearing is at staff discretion for outdoor activities. Unvaccinated guests are required to wear masks at all times at indoor activities. Vaccinated guests are encouraged to wear masks at indoor activities.

We are closely monitoring the advice from local health authorities on screening participants and we will follow that guidance. This may mean we use contactless temperature screening to identify anyone who has a high temperature. Anyone who presents a high temperature will be denied entry to the event and appropriate medical attention will be offered.

If screening measures are put in place, we will let everyone know what to expect in advance.

We are contacting all participants before the event to let them know what to expect at the event and how to prepare. Upon arrival, signage will be displayed throughout the venue to remind everyone of the enhanced health and safety measures that are in place, and our expectations of all visitors.

We are also using technology to reduce the need for physical contact, for example, non-contact registration, and actively managing visitor flow to ensure physical distancing can be maintained.

The Boston Harbor Encore is a Sharecare VERIFIED with Forbes Travel Guide property, which is earned by completing and maintaining verification on more than 360 global health security standards. You may find more information about this program here.

Anyone in need of medical assistance should visit the Registration area in Promenade 2. An event staff member or hotel personnel will be available to assist.

FEI staff will be available to answer questions at the Registration area in Promenade 2. All other inquiries should be directed to Kacey Anderson at kacey.anderson@informa.com.

Any event participant testing positive for COVID-19 will not be permitted to enter the event and will be asked to self-quarantine and follow all local guidelines and protocols. Should that guest be staying at the Boston Harbor Encore, event staff will work with both parties to accommodate the guest.

We are closely following the latest CDC guidelines on mask wearing. All event staff will wear masks at all times during indoor activities; mask wearing is at staff discretion for outdoor activities. All guests are encouraged to wear masks at all indoor activities.

All guests and staff wearing masks at the event should bring their own masks. A limited supply will be available on site.

We are closely following CDC mask recommendations. Masks must have two or more layers; completely cover the nose and mouth; fit snugly without gaps. Gaiters and face shields will not be accepted at the convention center or at off-site activities. For more information on CDC mask guidelines, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html.

No. Speakers are not required to wear masks during sessions or presentations, but will practice social distancing.

FEI is requiring all participants and support staff to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative result from a COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of arriving at the event.

Proof of vaccination:

• May be provided in digital or paper format
• Must display the date the vaccine was administered, or
  in the case of a 2-dose vaccine series the date of the first
  and second dosages
• Must be accompanied by a form of legal identification
  to verify the participant’s information matches the proof
  provided
• In accordance with CDC guidelines, people are considered
  fully vaccinated 2 weeks after having received their final
  vaccine dose

Proof of vaccination may be provided in digital or print format, including a photograph, and must be accompanied by legal identification. Any participant unable to provide proof of vaccination (or negative test results) will not be allowed to proceed to registration and will be directed to local testing sites.

May be provided in digital or paper format:

• Must be administered no more than 3 calendar days prior
  to entering the event
• Must be accompanied by a form of legal identification
  to verify the participant’s information matches the proof
  provided

Proof of negative test results may be provided in digital or print format, including a photograph, and must be accompanied by legal identification. Any participant unable to provide proof of negative test results (or full vaccination) will not be allowed to proceed to registration and will be directed to local testing sites.

FEI will not be providing tests at the event, however local testing facilities can be found here.

Please notify a staff member in the Registration area on Promenade 2 or contact staff members kacey.anderson@informa.com or kristin.weittrich@informa.com directly.

If you feel unwell and have any of the known symptoms of COVID-19, we must ask that you stay home. You can refer to the CDC’s COVID-19 self-checker guide by clicking here.

If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, we must ask you to leave the venue. Please visit a local
testing facility found here.

If you test positive for COVID-19 on site and are unable to travel, we will work with you and your hotel to accommodate you. Please contact Kristin Wittreich at Kristin.Wittreich@informa.com or 1.908.239.9054 for assistance.

No, however all indoor and outdoor event areas have been designed to give everyone space, comfort and reduce the chance of crowding.

Session rooms will be designed to accommodate individual seating preferences and to permit social distancing wherever possible. We designed the floorplan to give everyone space and comfort and reduce the chance of crowding. Speakers, who are not required to wear masks, will practice social distancing when speaking in their sessions.

Breakfast and break food will be grab-and-go style designed to allow for social distancing. Boxed lunches will be passed to guests by hotel personnel. For the reception, food will be passed; servers and bartenders will be wearing masks at all times.

Water stations will be available throughout the event where guests may refill water bottles; single use cups will also be available. These, and all other frequently-touched public areas, will be cleaned frequently.

Trash will be removed from the venue with increased frequency. Daily disinfecting will take place to sanitize all restrooms and frequently-touched public areas.

You can expect to see that health and safety is a priority and that a range of measures are in place to ensure everyone involved is able to enjoy a safe, hygienic, productive and high-quality organised event experience.

As a starting point, Informa AllSecure events will be run according to the guidance of government or official authority guidance, and according to any venue-specific regulations. In addition, all Informa AllSecure events follow ten key commitments around hygiene, physical distancing and protection & detection, with additional measures in place where relevant and practical.

Informa AllSecure is the approach we are taking to enhancing the health and safety standards in place at Informa events following COVID-19.

From exhibitors to sponsors, speakers, visitors and journalists, those who come to our events come to connect, learn, know more and do more business, effectively and safely.

The standards and practices that make up Informa AllSecure are designed to provide confidence that at every Informa event, we are striving to provide the highest standards of safety, hygiene, cleanliness and quality.

Informa AllSecure is based on a set of event industry standards, called All Secure.

The All Secure industry standards were developed collaboratively by a group including industry associations UFI, AEO and SISO, event organisers Informa, Reed Exhibitions and Clarion, a range of event venues, suppliers and with input from health, government and local authorities.

Informa AllSecure is the way these industry-wide All Secure standards are being applied to Informa events.

No environment or space inside or outside of the home can ever be 100% safe.

At controlled event gatherings like Informa events and through Informa AllSecure, we have put in place a comprehensive range of enhanced standards that make the health and safety of everyone who attends a priority.

Through measures such as enhanced deep cleaning before, during and after events, non-contact registration, distancing and crowd management, and the deployment of screening and protective equipment, we are striving to provide the highest standards of safety, hygiene and cleanliness, and to ensure that following COVID-19, our customers, partners and colleagues can connect, learn, know more and do business effectively, safely and with confidence.

If we anticipate queues/lines and crowds during peak times at our event, we will stagger entry times and use non-contact registration to speed up the entry process. Where queuing/lining up is anticipated, we will use signage and floor markings to remind everyone to maintain physical distancing.

We are asking everyone to wear a face mask upon arrival at all Informa events. Where governments or local authorities are advising the use of additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as eye coverings and gloves, we will advise everyone accordingly so they can come prepared.

Due to travel restrictions in place across the world, we are anticipating fewer international attendees at our event this year. However, we are working on connecting these buyers in other ways, such as through virtual participation, online business matchmaking services and online product directories.

We are also working hard to enhance our audience targeting by introducing greater scrutiny, pre-registration qualification and matchmaking tools, to improve the relevance of visitors to the event. Combined with other measures, enhanced targeting will lower the density of attendees but retain the overall quality of the event.