COVID-19 and Requiem (and Lexicon too)
I'm really looking forward to the Requiem anomaly in Munich, but unfortunately the trend worldwide seems to be toward cancelling large events. Given that I (and I suspect a large portion of expected participants) am looking at a rather pricey intercontinental flight to get to Munich, I'd ordinarily be booking my flights soon, but I'm hesitant to book travel right now given the uncertainty around the virus and how it will impact events. While many airlines have announced flexible change policies, there are still restrictions on changes made under these policies that make it difficult to recover the full value of the original ticket.
@NianticBrian, Can you provide any insight into your process and timeline for making a decision on the state of Requiem? Do you anticipate making a go/no-go call at a particular date? Naturally, a decision to go forward could be overridden if circumstances beyond your control occur late, such as the German government instituting a travel ban and/or mandatory quarantine just before the event. But even knowing that, it would be really helpful to know if Niantic has a target date in mind for making (and communicating) a decision so agents can potentially hold off on making their own non-refundable arrangements until then.
I'm also interested in the process/timeline for Lexicon. Given that Lexicon is scheduled to occur in many cities around the world, agents are less likely to do any intercontinental travel, but some agents are still eager to book their travel arrangements soon if they haven't already. Also, as someone on an xfac team in a Lexicon host city trying to ensure a fun weekend for our visitors, we'd like to be able to plan accordingly. I hope everything proceeds as planned, but again it would be helpful to get a bit more insight into your decision-making process as the event approaches.
Comments
No one knows what the situation will be like in two months. There's a good chance the problem will be gone if early summer sets in and outside temperatures rise. Apart from that, it all depends on how successful the individual countries will be in limiting the spread of the virus.
Expecting Niantic to announce any decisions now is naive.
I think your comment is the one that is naive. Several conferences around the world are being canceled in March and April. Despite what the US president says, there's no reason to expect this virus to go away as temperatures get warmer. Besides, early May is not exactly summer, especially in Europe. The OP is simply querying Niantic to see if they have a plan.
Regarding last weekend's Perpetua Hexathlon/Mission Day, @NianticHilda reached out to ask what the COVID-19 situation was like in Adelaide in a chat in the Niantic Mission Day organisation Slack instance.
We had no concerns going ahead with the event. My best advice is to wait and see, and reach out via a Vanguard if the situation changes.
I'm perfectly happy to wait and see for a while, but I want to know how long I ought to wait for. I am not expecting a decision right now, but I'd like to know if Niantic has a timeframe for making a decision.
A Hexathlon/Mission Day is one thing, where there is no Niantic presence/investment, and travel tends to be more local, but Requiem is a large event in a single place that will have heavy Niantic presence and their own hosted events, etc. I'm quite certain they are considering their options, the contracts they have in place, and the deposits they have due, and they likely have some decision points coming up.
If Niantic is poised to make their own decisions at a particular date (e.g., xx days out from the event), then I will postpone my decision on airfare until that date has passed. If they are past that point and fully intend to go forward absent a declaration of emergency / travel ban that overrides their plans, then I can make my own decision now. This is what I'm asking for clarity on.
This is a very expensive decision point for me, as well as the many other agents overseas from Munich, so I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for as much information as possible to inform this decision.
If Niantic is going to cancel any of their upcoming events I'd rather know sooner than later. I know a lot can change in a short amount of time, including for the better, but the closer to the date it's canceled the more people have sunk travel money and planning time into an event that didn't happen. I agree with OP-Niantic, please communicate about your decision making process regarding the coronavirus.
Sorry was focusing on the Lexicon senario in the OP.. I can understand the concern for those making travel plans as we had a number of interstate attendees at our event, and I would have personally considered travelling to ChristChurch if we hadn't had our own event.
As co-event lead in Adelaide we had a few challenges.. chiefly a large concert occuring in our originally proposed playbox on Feb 29. While we didn't have direct contact as there was no POCs, the Australian Vanguard was instrumental in getting the Hexathlon moved to a different location.
Hopefully a local Vanguard can assist in pushing these concerns.
I think most of us are on a wait and see mode with the next round of events as the coronavirus keeps spreading worldwide. However it would be much appreciated if Niantic could make a decision as early as possible (ideally with more than 14 days notice).
Check with your preferred carrier (if they haven’t already contacted you) about any updates to itinerary changes or cancellation fees. I realize that may not help much for pricing to Europe close to peak tourist season, but it may help with decisionmaking.
In Bayern (where Munich is situated) are all events over 1000 people are forbidden to take place as of today. This is till 19. of April but could be prolonged. Bayern is the state with the second most corona infections in Germany.
given hos the amount of infected people there is a high chance if not this then next month the anomaly might get canceled, because being the only so far u can expect lots of people, and during this times thats the worst thing u can do, organize an event where thousands of people are supposed to gather and play.. so yeah consider the anomaly a bit loose unless something majors changes less then 2 months.....
Not sure if everyone saw this announcement by Niantic, they provided an update on their event plans and decision points on their blog
https://nianticlabs.com/blog/liveevents-update-20200306/
I don't think that an anomaly can even be discussed until the red zone in Italy is lifted. Less than 300km from Munich to the Italian border.
It is predicted that it will take 12-18 months, before we get herd immunity and potentially a vaccine. We will be dealing with this for a long time. However, right now is the critical time period, because too many illnesses, will result in over taxing the health system. That's why I feel it's a good idea to wait until WHO tells us differently. https://www.linkedin.com/content-guest/article/notes-from-ucsf-expert-panel-march-10-dr-jordan-shlain-m-d-/
Flattening the curve is an important part of our defense against this disease. https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-03-2020/the-three-phases-of-covid-19-and-how-we-can-make-it-manageable/?amp&__twitter_impression=true. I haven't found a prediction on how long it will take to flatten the curve. However, at best, it will likely be near the time of the Anomaly in Munich. It's a really tight timeline, to feel comfortable about hosting the Anomaly, which will bring travelers from all over the world.
Preparing for an anomaly, requires recruiting. It feels insensitive to encourage people to travel outside the country, when we don't even know that it will be possible to do, by May 9. It would be in Niantic's best interest to prepare responsibly for the worst case scenario. It would show responsibility and concern for our community.
I will continue to look forward to anomalies and other events in the future.
Covid 19 is a dark XM construct created by Hulong. The scary part is that it fits the Hulong Narrative as during the dark XM threat around this time last year portals were being rapidly neutralized.
As much as it's sad to know that the only Anomaly in the year has been cancelled... Safety first before we start enjoying Ingress activities again
Today it would be the day for travelling to Munich. I hope we could have an other date for Munich. Take care evry one!!! And see you 😢
not this year atleast... i doubt nothing of this until next year sadly....
I guess Hulong and Dark XM win the anomaly.