PAX East is giving convention attendees official warnings regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
You’ve probably heard of the Wuhan coronavirus, so-called due to it originating from Wuhan Province in China. The virus is part of a larger family of viruses that includes everything from 2002’s SARS epidemic to the common cold. Symptoms are usually fever and cough, but they can progress to pneumonia, difficulty breathing, and septic shock.
According to the Chinese government, over 31,000 people have been infected with 623 reported deaths, although those figures are now gaining scrutiny as strangely low, given the enormous panic the coronavirus has generated in China.
The virus has also started making its way around the world. Multiple countries have reported their own cases of coronavirus, with the US and many other nations instituting a travel ban to China until the outbreak has run its course.
Although the US only has 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus within its borders, that doesn’t mean that people feel safe. PAX East has taken the unusual step of warning convention-goers to the threat of the coronavirus and even has recommendations to stay safe posted on their website.
The update mostly just reiterates what we already know about the coronavirus: it seems to hit the elderly and those with compromised immune systems harder than the young, as well as those with chronic lung disease. Then it goes on to list ways to protect yourself, such as frequent hand washing and coughing into your elbow.
It’s all mostly just enhanced hygiene techniques, but it’s still notable that PAX East is telling folks to be careful around people with a cough. They even go as far as to tell people who have been to Wuhan or Hubei Province to stay in self-imposed quarantine for two weeks and not come to the convention.
With the outbreak showing no signs of slowing down, it’s hard to say if these fears are overblown or not. PAX East will run from February 27 to March 1.
Source: PAX East
