Understanding Local COVID Regulations

Untangling the thorny and arcane mix of local ordinances for events has always been a service that metroConnections has provided for our clients. Since the onset of COVID-19, many cities and states have added a swath of new safety regulations concerning face mask usage, sanitation, and social distancing. Luckily, you’ve got metroConnections on your side, as our experts have been exploring these topics with our existing clients that continued to meet in-person in 2020 and 2021.

“We keep a running database that stores detailed information about every single venue that we’ve visited,” says Bill Sather, metroConnections Vice President of Technologies, “Since the pandemic began, we’ve been constantly updating our database with new information about local COVID-19 regulations for each of these venues.”

Once our clients have selected their venue, metroConnections’ team will consult the chosen venue’s management as well as our internal database to make sure that the client’s event will be in lockstep compliance with local COVID-19 restrictions. Our programming team will also conduct additional research to identify COVID-19 testing and treatment resources near the event venue. When our staff arrives on-site for your event, they’ll do so armed with travel-ready COVID-kits that include sanitizer, masks and other personal protective equipment, rapid tests, and more.

“Right now, Las Vegas is mandating masks for indoor events,” explains Sather, “Nashville has a mask mandate for event staff, but not attendees. On the other hand, states like Texas and Florida are more or less wide-open and mandate-free,” Sather continues. “However, we can work to create event-specific safety practices in those states if clients require.”

If a client’s internal COVID-19 policies are more strict than those at their chosen venue, metroConnections will adhere to the client’s internal policies. We will work with your human resources department to ensure we have a solid plan in place for attendees of any conference. If the opposite is true, our team will still adhere to the stricter set of regulations to make sure the client’s event is ironclad from a liability standpoint.

Because of the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, metroConnections’ event team is always ready to adapt your event’s safety plan, should regulations change suddenly.

“We recently conducted an event in St. Louis, and when we first arrived, there was no mask mandate,” Sather says, “Suddenly, halfway through the event, local ordinances changed and a mask mandate was put in place. Because of our preparation, our team was able to adjust our strategy on the fly and continue the event.”

This combination of deep institutional knowledge and organizational agility make metroConnections the perfect partner for your next event. No need to waste time digging through South Carolina or Oregon’s state heath department websites, just leave the research to us! For more information about our services related to Covid-19 state ordinances, contact us today at info@metroconnections.com