Electrical Generating Systems Association
 Spring Conference Attendee Advisory
Coronavirus (COVID-19)

March 9, 2020
The EGSA 2020 Spring Conference Kicks-Off in 6 Days!
 The EGSA 2020 Spring Conference will still take place as planned, March 15-17, 2020 at Planet Hollywood Casino Resort. At this time, no federal restrictions are in place to prevent meetings and travel within the Continental United States, including Las Vegas, NV. EGSA is taking extra precautions to ensure the health and safety of all event participants and we are consulting the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) and Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS).

Myths vs. Facts
 What has been hardest to communicate is that fear and uncertainty - not the virus itself - is what's driving cancellations across travel and meetings. Let's look at some facts:
  • To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does NOT have a coronavirus related travel health notice for the United States and considers it safe to travel and meet in the continental U.S. As of today, the CDC IS advising against travel to China, Iran, Italy and South Korea ONLY.
     
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) says an airplane cabin by itself isn't more conducive to spreading infection. The virus is airborne. It's transmitted droplets and only lives on surfaces. Airlines have procedures in place that help prevent the spread of illness in the case anyone on board is infected.
  • The World Health Organization advises AGAINST travel restrictions: "Travel bans to affected areas or denial of entry to passengers coming from affected areas are usually not effective in preventing the importation of cases but may have a significant economic and social impact."
  • You're MUCH more likely to get the flu - even die from it - than COVID-19. About 1 billion people contract seasonal flu each year, resulting in an estimated 646,000 deaths annually. During the 2018-19 flu season, vaccination prevented an estimated 4.4 million illnesses, 58,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths, per CDC statistics. Yet, only 49 percent of Americans get vaccinated. If a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, will you get it? Meanwhile, it's not too late to get the seasonal flu shot, and it's statistically more important than any worries about coronavirus.
COVID-19  
The FLU
Approximate Cases Worldwide
98,202
1 BILLION
Approximate Death Worldwide
3,381
646,000

**As of 03/09/2020
**Annually

CLICK HERE to find an "Ease Your Fears Coronavirus & Travel" PDF with grounding facts from authoritative sources, including WHO, CDC, Harvard University and John Hopkins University.

Planet Hollywood Casino Resort
 Below is a statement Caesars Entertainment/Planet Hollywood Resort Casino Resort provided us regarding the Coronavirus:
"We understand that our current and future guests may have questions about the COVID-19 situation as it pertains to Las Vegas and the Caesars Entertainment properties in the city.   We have been regularly evaluating our policies and procedures with our top priority being the health and safety of our guests, employees and host community.   We are constantly reviewing information from local, national and international health authorities to ensure all our actions are based on logical risk assessments supported by facts, science and medicine.
The city and the surrounding area, including the resort properties, have not been identified as being at higher risk for disease transmission.  People who have not traveled to an area where the virus is circulating, or have not had close contact with a patient who has tested positive for the virus, continue to be at low risk for infection.
What are we at Caesars are doing to help further minimize the risk of infection among our staff and guests?
  • We have suspended all business travel to and from regions currently under travel recommendations for COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which currently includes China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy and Hong Kong.
  • We have advised our employees not to travel to these areas for personal reasons.  If they choose to do so, they must inform us before they depart and, upon their return, stay home for three weeks.
  • We are asking employees who are sick to stay home until they are free of respiratory illness, or to go home if they become sick during the work day.
  • We are reinforcing good hygiene (e.g., frequent hand-washing, cover nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth) and urging staff to avoid people who are sick.
  • We have ordered stand-up hand sanitizer stations to place throughout the Conference Center
  • We are also reinforcing the requirement for our Las Vegas operators to be scrupulous about cleaning frequently touched surfaces and items several times per hour.
We will continue to carefully monitor this situation and update our policies and procedures as the situation warrants.  We will also immediately implement directives from health officials.   As mentioned above, health and safety is our top priority, and we want every guest to enjoy their time in Las Vegas confident that Caesars Entertainment is responding effectively and appropriately to this evolving situation."

Conference Attendance
 As of today, we have only had a handful of attendee cancellations. Our trade show still has record breaking numbers and so far has not been impacted. While we understand there are attendees and/or exhibitors that may decide not to attend and we respect everyone's desire to do what's best, we also hope you do your own risk assessment of the destination and look at the key facts vs. myths.

Refunds
 Please see refund section below from Advisory dated March 4, 2020.

Resources
Below are some resources for you to monitor and stay up-to-date. We will also inform you of any EGSA status changes.




We will be posting this information and continuing to update the Spring Conference Website, as well as a special COVID-19 information page in our event app. Please bookmark that page to easily access the latest information.

For questions relating to the Spring Conference, please email EGSA Manager of Conferences & Meetings,   Emily Hartstone .

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March 4, 2020
EGSA 2020 Spring Conference Status 
The 2020 EGSA Spring Conference is proceeding as planned at Planet Hollywood Casino Resort, Las Vegas, March 15-17. We continue to take our direction from global, federal, and local health officials, like the CDC and WHO, which do not have travel notices or restrictions on public gatherings for the continental US. As of today, we have not had one exhibitor cancellation and only one attendee inquiry due to the Coronavirus - in fact, people are still registering to date. Additionally, we want to remind you that we do not have international travelers coming in.

Refunds
Our cutoff date for refunds is February 21, 2020 per the registration policy and guidelines. At this time, we have given our final guarantees to Planet Hollywood based on your attendance. We understand there are attendees and/or exhibitors that may decide not to attend and we respect everyone's desire to do what's best, however no refunds will be issued unless there are federal travel restrictions or restrictions on public (business) gatherings within the continental US. 

Stay Informed and Be Prepared
It is our goal to create a healthy and safe environment where our attendees and exhibitors can conduct business and strengthen relationships. We are in communication with the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, who both understand that the health and safety of our attendees is our top priority. According to SNHD, there are currently no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in the state of Nevada and all tests have come back negative. We will continue to work with all show partners, including Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas Expo and the airport authority to ensure the safety of all participants is the highest priority at the event.

Resources
Below are some resources for you to monitor and stay up-to-date. We will also inform you of any EGSA status changes.



Frequently Asked Questions About Coronavirus (COVID-19)



We will be posting this on the Spring Conference website. Please bookmark that page as we will continue to update it with any changes.

For questions relating to the Spring Conference, please email EGSA Manager of Conferences & Meetings,   Emily Hartstone .

We look forward to seeing you in Vegas!