Stuff??? 
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Although, in my opinion, this is kind of âDuck and Coverâ strategy, I am with CCP in this case.
Better safe than sorry.
Better cancel it, than allow hundreds of capsuleers from all over the world to infest the natives.
Going against my best judgement, I will share a professional tip for those who had travel plans and a travel insurance.
First, airlines are adopting a âflexibilizationâ policy, in which tickets acquired earlier than the start of the epidemic (or tis spread out of China, or some other date) can be cancelled/reimbursed/delayed/re-routed to another destination. Your mileage may vary depending on the airline and the status of the disease at Iceland.
Second, most travel insurances have a safety clause in that theyâre not effective in the event of a disaster at your destination unless your government formally agrees to it. That is, if your government declares a lockdown of the destination, then youâre legally obliged to not travel there and your insurance will suck it and pay your unclaimable expenses. If it still is legally possible to travel to your destination, then not traveling there might be considered voluntary withdrawal and you wonât be paid.
Third, some high tier travel insurances have a âvoluntary withdrawalâ clause, upon payment of a deductible excess usually ranging 10-15% of the value of the travel. If thatâs your case, you might just use this clause (or wait for a fleixibilization of the airline policy).
Since airlines are applying special policies and most people will have picked flexible hotel rates allowing cancellation up to a few days before (you have, do you?) financial loss might be little for most people.
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This was an incredibly hard decision for us here at CCP and we realise a lot of people had already made flight and accommodation commitments and will now face financial penalties as a result.
Iâm grateful to see so many people saying things like âwe understandâ and it âwas the right decisionâ despite the hardship it has caused to them personally. Instead of torches and pitchforks thereâs been a lot of understanding and deference. Thank you!
And itâs not just a line - our playersâ health and safety really is our top priority at live events and given the spectrum of possible outcomes a month from now when Fanfest was due to take place, this really is the least worst of a bunch of really bad potential outcomes.
That said I have a ton of admiration for the people already saying âScrew it, weâre going to Iceland anyway and weâll make our own Fanfest!â I love that spirit!
Weâre really immensely sorry and at CCP weâre all very disappointed that weâve had to do this. Fanfest is incredibly special to us because it provides an opportunity to so many devs who work behind the scenes and donât normally get to interact with players a chance to engage with you in a really personal and meaningful way. That said I still acknowledge that our loss isnât as significant at those who have made an investment into getting here in the first place.
In the coming weeks weâll be looking at ways we can make it up to you and I hope we can come up with something that at least makes you feel at least a little bit better about this outcome.
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IMO, you guys did the right thing. Thanks for the update about your decision. I know it wasnât an easy one to make, but Iâm sure you guys will come up with some way to make it up to those who wanted to go, or do something as well with those who are showing up anyway.
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On going virus is not more dangerous than annual influenza virus. I demand great festival!
EDIT: My planetary representatives workplace has atually denied all vacations during planned festival. He managed to battle his vacation to that time and now it is â â â â â â â chancelled? Do you have any idea how bad this is?
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Oh my God allmighty and Empress, beloved by all!
My planetary representative threatened to resign and risked sacking and now this is cancelled for something no more dangerous than annual influenza!?
â â â â and hell. I cannot fathom what to say to my plantary representatives employer.
Mortality rate aside, good infection control is still the best way to get this under control.
Based on the mortality rates reported, particularly in China however, it is more deadly than influenza:
and the rate of mortality increases with age:
Whether you going to Fanfest would necessarily put you at greater risk, needs to also consider the possibility that if you somehow contracted the virus while travelling, that could then present a greater risk back in your own local area.
So itâs unfortunate, but given the situation, not surprising that CCP have taken this step.
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Considering that FF tends to be populated with morbidly obese basement dwelling neckbeards that canât walk up three steps without panting and wheezing to the point of near blackout, I think CCP made the right call on this one.
Something as simple as a common cold would rip through this bunch in a couple of hours. So you end up with half the place coughing and the other half in a panic while the Icelandic government decides how many weeks to lock them in the convention center for.
Yup. Avoiding that â â â â show is the right way to go on this.
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Short, blunt and eloquent. I couldnât have said it better myself.
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Relation from man living in Keflavik:
Every day planes with chinese and hundrets of tourists, silly. Additionally, all life and activity in the region where I am is concentrated around airfield. Probably half of people here is sick but we dont know it yet. But its nothing, lol, cash is flowing in, tourists flying in, rent cars, etc etc, We dont panic, but we start being a bit paranoid. Since 3 days ago they placed everywhere some desinfectant gel dispensers (how that is gonna help someone lol). So there you have it, we chill XD. And one more thing, if you think Polish health service is bad, its a lot worse here, Cheers. ( ͥ° ÍĘ ÍĄÂ°).
First case of koronavirus was yesterday confirmed in ICELAND!
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Hello!
Is Golden Circle with devs cancelled too? No one knows what is going with it.
ps. I think you are overreacting this situation when you cancelled EVE fanfest.
Minimize damage, and then return back to normal. Slowing an infection down is important.
For example, there were no new cases in Vietnam for the last several weeks, and all confirmed ones were cured.
Itâs not an over-reaction
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I think this is a terrible decision. There were multiple alternate courses of action that could have been explored. Example,
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All participants will undergo screening before you can attend, i.e. set up an onsite blood testing lab and have all hard core EVEârs submit to a blood screening before entering the Hall of Heroâs. and then give a pint of that freshly screened blood to the American Red Cross. I am sure the CDC would have appalled your efforts and maybe even provided $$ support to help support.
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Move the EVE Fanfest to an ONLINE forum. Free give aways, commemorative Gift packs, Sponsored Coupons or Gift Cards. Open forum discussions from your hall of Champions, With TTPâs tactics, techniques and procedures. Endless amount of Cool stuff could have been pulled together by your Geek squad.
Giving in to fear doesnât push you to excel in life, make you take chances like opening a new business, ask a pretty girl to dance, and it certainly doesnât win Battles. That doesnât mean you act stupid or take stupid chances by gambling. You make plans, adapt to your environment, and continue to move forward.
I understand your concerns, I just think there were better options then total cancellation.
Respectfully,
Im certain they would too.
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They should hold Fanfest but make triglavian hoods for real that are masks as well and make everyone where them.
The point of limiting contact and the risk of exposure is to slow the spread of the disease before a vaccine is developed. The latter is expected to go to trials within a few months, but it apparently will take close to a year before a publicly distributable version can be released. The trial process apparently takes a while in order to undergo evaluation for effectiveness, safety, etc.
Meanwhile, whatever prudent steps can be taken to slow the spread are advisable. Based on the data from China, the current fatality rate is over 3.5%. Thatâs much higher than a standard flu, and more than significant enough to try to avoid exposing the entire worldâs population to if we can.
CCPâs precaution here is prudent and follows what is happening with the cancellation of a number of international events around the world.
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If there is a silver lining in all of this, we can take solace in that EVE is an online game. Apparently one of the biggest problems faced by citizens in locked-down towns and cities in China and a few other places is boredom. Canât go to work (unless you can telecommute), canât or shouldnât go outside except to get groceries, etc.
EVE may yet do itâs small bit to help preserve the mental health of its player community, as it likely already does for many of us.
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Bravo, CCP, for this courageous decision. Good call to cancel, although it is sad that many people will lose money, not to mention missing out on a great event.
IRL, I am an Emergency Physician in the US, and am convinced that COVID-19 is going to be a big problem worldwide this year. It is far more deadly than influenza, and is shaping up to be just as infectious and difficult to control as influenza. Honestly, I expect the Japanese government to cancel the Summer Olympics because of it.
A year from now, I have no doubt that CCP leaders will be certain that they made the right decision.
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