COVID-19 Safety

4th Street Fantasy is thrilled to meet in person again. For the safety and protection of our attendees, we’ve been closely monitoring the guidelines and practices used by other SFF conventions that have held in-person events in the past eight months, as well as best practice suggestions from medical consultants and the CDC. With that information in mind, we set forth the following policies and important reminders.

We may update or modify these policies at any point until the commencement of 4th Street Fantasy 2022. Please review this page again immediately prior to your attendance at 4th Street.

GENERAL DISCLAIMERS

Please be advised that a risk of exposure to COVID-19 may exist in any public space or event at this time, including 4th Street. By registering for and attending 4th Street, you acknowledge this inherent risk on behalf of yourself and/or any attendees to whom you are serving as a legal guardian. Attendance at 4th Street 2022 is contingent upon acknowledgement of and compliance with all convention health and safety guidelines. Noncompliance may result in your being relocated or removed from the convention space at the sole discretion of 4th Street personnel.

While we will try to control our designated convention spaces as best possible, the hotel staff and non-convention guests are not bound by any 4th Street Fantasy policies. We cannot guarantee their vaccination status or compliance with physical safety procedures for COVID-19.

EXPOSURE CONTROL AND AFFIRMATION OF NON-POSITIVITY

By attending 4th Street 2022, you affirm that you (and/or any attendees for whom you are serving as a legal guardian) are not, at time of entry, known to be positive for COVID-19, or to have had contact with a known or suspected COVID-19 exposure case immediately prior to the convention, and that you are not under any self-quarantine or isolation orders. You also affirm that you have verified your non-positive status with a rapid antigen or PCR test on the same calendar day as your entry to the con. A certain number of rapid tests will be made available at the convention itself, but we ask, if at all possible, that you test yourself outside the convention space before commencing the registration process.

Individuals who have recovered from COVID within 90 days prior to 4th Street may present false positives on PCR tests. Our current information from the CDC indicates that rapid tests will not suffer from this problem.

PROOF OF VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS

All attendees ages 5 and up participating in 4th Street activities, including staff, volunteers, and workshop participants, must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved or authorized by the FDA or WHO against COVID-19 in order to attend, and must show proof of vaccination at their time of entry. “Full vaccination” means that your final dose of an FDA/WHO approved or authorized vaccine was given at least 14 days prior to your admission to 4th Street.

At registration, attendees will be required to present 4th Street staff with a vaccination card or electronic record showing both a primary vaccination and a booster OR proof of a medical exemption (such as a signed doctor’s letter).

MASK REQUIREMENTS

Masks are not optional at 4th Street 2022. Everyone in attendance at 4th Street, in indoor convention spaces, is required to wear an appropriate face covering. This includes during registration, between panels, and during movement into and out of 4th Street spaces. Face coverings must, at a minimum, fully cover the nose and mouth and secure beneath the chin. They must fit properly and closely upon the face without significant gaps around the edges. 4th Street strongly recommends the use of a properly fitted N95 or KN95 mask. A certain number of such masks will be available to attendees at no additional charge.
 
Medically ineffective masks, costume masks, masks with unfiltered exhalation valves, and obviously damaged masks will not meet 4th Street requirements.
 
EXPOSURE REPORTING AT THE CONVENTION
 
Attendees testing positive for COVID-19 during the con or otherwise suspecting serious illness during the con must report this to 4th Street organizers immediately. All such reports will be treated as CONFIDENTIAL by 4th Street personnel and it will be at an attendee’s sole discretion to discuss their identity and the nature of their symptoms in public. The primary contact for COVID reporting is Scott Lynch; reports may be made in person but attendees are also encouraged to use the email addresses scott@scottlynch.us and/or info@4thstreetfantasy.com. Phone/text number will be provided to attendees at the con. Attendees testing positive for COVID-19 will be required to leave the main convention spaces and relocate/isolate, either in a hotel room or off hotel premises, and will be asked to reconstruct as best possible the time and location of their interactions with other 4th Street attendees.
 
Symptoms which may be of particular concern, according to the CDC, include: Fever or chills, coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, unusual fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, new loss of senses of smell/taste, sore throat, congestion, nausea, and diarrhea.
 
Attendees suspecting an exposure to COVID-19 or worried about symptoms they may be experiencing, may request a rapid test from 4th Street personnel if they do not otherwise have access to such a test. 4th Street will provide rapid tests promptly as long as supplies last.
 
Attendees testing positive for COVID-19 up to five days following their departure from 4th Street (for the majority of attendees this means until Friday, June 24th) are requested to report this to the convention as well.
 

Attendees found by staff to be noncompliant with these policies will not be permitted into convention spaces. Please be sure you bring appropriate proof of vaccination status, as 4th Street Fantasy is unable to issue at-con refunds for registration this year.

Our policies will be strictly enforced, but we believe they are also relatively simple and straightforward. We take the matter of COVID-19 safety very seriously and believe, after long consideration, that the above policies are absolutely necessary to maintain the standard of attendee safety we strive for.

Last Updated: June 14, 2022