Health & Safety Guidelines

PyCon US organizers share our community’s concerns regarding event safety and want PyCon US to be an event that everyone feels safe attending. PyCon US is exceptional in that we have people attending from all over the world—last year we had people attending from 95 different countries! We love that people bring their unique perspectives, but this also means that local germs, viruses, or COVID strains can also be carried to the event.

In light of ongoing health considerations, this year the PyCon US Health & Safety Guidelines highly encourage all attendees to wear masks throughout the conference spaces where distancing cannot be maintained and expect voluntary testing by attendees.

We’ve had conversations with the David L. Lawrence Convention Center about the building’s ventilation and air quality which includes natural air ventilation systems and minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) filters of 13 and 14 in each of its air handlers; the CDC standard is MERV 13. Read more information here.

Although our masking standard is relaxed compared to our 2024 event, we expect that all attendees respect those who choose to wear a mask and their boundaries.

Masks are Encouraged but not Required

Masks:

Additional Health Information:

  • Hand sanitizing stations will be available at key locations.
  • Local health guidelines regarding capacity limits and social distancing (wherever possible) will be followed.
  • Outdoor areas for eating will be available within the conference center, weather permitting.
  • We expect you to respect fellow attendees’ boundaries if they request increased physical distance.

Compliance:

  • We ask all attendees to respect this policy and support one another in maintaining a safe environment.
  • Failure to respect others and their boundaries may result in a Code of Conduct Violation.

Vaccinations are Encouraged

We encourage PyCon US attendees to stay up to date with the vaccinations that are available to them where they live. We know that PyCon US attendees are coming from all over the world and the availability of current vaccines is extremely different from place to place. We encourage and trust you to do your best.

Rapid COVID-19 Tests Are Encouraged

We encourage PyCon US attendees to use at-home/antigen/rapid tests before they arrive, while they are at PyCon US, and before departing from PyCon US. We will be providing free additional rapid tests as supplies permit to anyone who needs them in the staff office.

Easy Refunds

We expect people to stay home if they may be contagious. If you are feeling sick or exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, or test positive for COVID-19, before the start of the conference, or on any day of the conference, please contact us at pycon-reg@python.org, and we will grant you a refund and waive the cancellation fee.

No Rollback

PyCon US reserves the right to increase the requirements of this policy based on COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, or positive test rates as reported by the CDC. We may also be required to alter our policy to conform with local, state, or federal mandates.

We promise not to downgrade our Health & Safety policy between now and the event to allow community members to make decisions about attending with confidence that this policy won’t be weakened between when they buy a ticket or submit a talk and when the conference takes place. We are looking into designated seating areas for masked attendees and will keep the community posted on whether or not that is feasible.

By working together and following these guidelines, we can create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone. Thank you for your cooperation and commitment to the health and safety of our community. We look forward to seeing you all again in Pittsburgh, PA!

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