FLEET Satellite Meeting / FLEET annual workshop
These are FLEET’s first major ‘in person’ events since the pandemic. If you’re feeling anxious being around so many people for the first time in 2 years, we hear you. We’ll be doing what we can to make everyone as safe as possible.
RATs / shaking hands / masks / distancing / if you get sick / links / rationale
Please consider doing a RAT for the safety of your colleagues (and, the reassurance of any who might be particularly apprehensive), both before the conference and each day. We’ll provide sufficient RATs during the event.
You may want to resist the urge to shake hands (we know, we haven’t seen each other for 2½ years! We’ll be resisting the urge to hug everyone!). Fist and forearm bumps are so hot right now.
Please wear a masks, particularly in group situations where you cannot maintain physical distance. We certainly encourage attendees to wear a mask while we’re all listening to talks in the main, large shared conference room. If you want to remove the masks while speaking to others, that’s your decision.
If others are wearing masks, please don’t hassle them, or ask them to remove their mask so you can hear them better.
Face masks are mandatory on buses and other public transport in NSW. Face masks are also required in UOW laboratories.
Please bring your own mask/s. We’ll have spares.
Physical distancing is challenging at a workshop. If you feel more comfortable staying further away from others, there will be standing space around the perimeter of the large shared room, and you are welcome to move your chair. Note there are no longer any capacity/density limits in place in NSW or at the venue (UOW).
Outdoors is safer than indoors, so feel free to have one-on-one or small-group conversations outside when possible (rug up warm). The outdoor terrace will be available when weather permits for meal breaks (there will be heaters).
If you feel ill at any point, do not come into shared areas. Let your supervisor/peers know by phone, and ask them to alert one of the FLEET Operations Team. We can arrange to drop off a RAT test at your accommodation (but even if you test negative by RAT you may be covid positive, or you may have influenza, so please do not re-enter shared areas until you’ve tested negative and you feel better).
We have facilities for online attendance, and can quickly dial you in so you won’t miss anything.
If you do come down with covid or the flu while at the workshop you may have to stay in town a week. We’ll make sure you’re looked after until your home uni/insurance kicks in. As well as letting the FLEET Ops Team know, you or your supervisor should alert your uni (see links below) and CC the venue at cmt-mailbox@uow.edu.au
Errol Hunt (0423 139210) and Tenille Ibbotson (0403 529 831) are FLEET’s official covid safety officers. A safety and risk plan has been filled out, as part of our process of identifying ways to mitigate risks. (We’re happy to share it if you’re interested.)
There are no requirements regarding vaccination either at the venue (UOW) or mandated by FLEET. Your own uni may have vaccination requirements regarding travel. (FLEET strongly recommends vaccination against both covid and influenza!)
We will not have check-in facilities, but will maintain lists of attendees via registration, should we need to notify close contacts of a confirmed case. While there are no legal or venue requirements regarding notification in NSW, we or the venue will let you know if you have been in contact with a case of covid or influenza, while maintaining privacy, as we know some people have specific factors (eg, immune-compromised family members).
Links
- Aspire venue plan signage, hygiene, ventilation, sanitiser
- UOW UOW has a COVID safe campus transition plan
- Monash notification link, email, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) / Uni counselling services / events travel/insurance.
- UNSW notification / travel
- ANU advice/notification link
- UQ coronavirus info / if you test positive at work / claims related to COVID-19 / FAQs
- SUT resources/notification requirements
- RMIT notification link / email
- NSW covid-safety at work requirements / travel / Wollongong PCR test site map (not particularly user-friendly, sorry)
Rationale We’re hoping these guidelines make sense, and that they strike the right balance between safety, making colleagues feel safe, and common sense. We’re going a bit above and beyond the bare minimums of state law and venue regulations.
We know these guidelines won’t eliminate any chance of transmission during the event. It’s absolutely true that you wearing a mask during talks on Monday won’t stop someone else getting covid during lunch on Wednesday. However (and speaking to physicists here), we believe that given an unknown ‘input’ on Monday of X infected people, these guidelines will result in fewer infected people as a workshop ‘output’ on Friday.
We’ve made a conscious decision to facilitate online attendance, because even though we have missed you all and want to see you in person, we don’t want to force anyone to come who doesn’t feel safe.
Errol welcomes all philosophical and logistical discussion of these guidelines while at the event but may press-gang you as a microphone volunteer in payment.