TwitchCon 2022 now has vaccine, testing and mask rules

Update 08/12/2022 1:55pm ET: A new blog post from Twitch States that TwitchCon San Diego attendees are now required to wear masks indoors. The blog post also points this out that all participants must provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within 72 hours of the event. The original article continues below:

TwitchCon is taking place in San Diego on October 7-9, and if you’ve had any thoughts about attending, know that the organizers assume we’re living in 2019, not 2022, and that you a lot of it have to take your personal safety into your own hands.

In a section called “Health Measures” on the show’s website (discovered by Zach Bussey), organizers say that “at the time of the event, TwitchCon San Diego is being presented in accordance with applicable public health and safety guidelines,” meaning that “the health and safety procedures for our event are subject to change at any time, such as determined by federal or local authorities, Venue and/or Twitch.”

At the time of publication, however, these measures are almost non-existent. Participants do not need to be vaccinated, are not required to provide test results, and are not even required to wear a mask:

Together with the local authorities, we constantly review our health and safety guidelines. As per current local guidelines, there will be no COVID-19 vaccinations or testing at TwitchCon San Diego. While masks are recommended, they are not currently required to attend TwitchCon. Please make sure you are compliant with our current health and safety measures before purchasing your TwitchCon ticket.

This pandemic is not over yet! California records 50,000 new cases daily (as of this week), and the recently held Comic-Con showed that these big events are still helping to spread Covid, even Star panelists like George RR Martin leaving the show on a positive note. With immunizations at the level they are, and people just generally wanting to get past the pandemic, you might understand some Easing of the restrictions so that the show could take place at all. But give up Everyone from them? This is extremely shit.

Especially when the TwitchCon line is, “Well, San Diego doesn’t have any rules, so neither will we,” when Comic-Con — a much larger event — was just being held in the same place in the same cityand its organizers not only mandated the wearing of masks, but also proof of vaccination (or a recent negative test).

When Twitch says that “the health and safety procedures for our event are subject to change at any time,” we hope the time is very soon (There is already a submission on Twitch to at least make masks compulsory), otherwise participation sounds like a risky idea.