As you probably all know by now, the COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in multiple event cancellations and will likely continue to affect WordPress community events for the months to come. 

While it still seems appropriate to continue to organize local WordCamps and events in areas unaffected by the outbreak, it’s also prudent for us to plan our events with the possibility of cancellation in mind. 

Therefore, I’d like to announce some new, hopefully temporary, recommendations for WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. organizers:

1. When reviewing vendor contracts (venue, catering, swag, etc), please pay special attention to cancellation terms and cut-off dates. Share those dates with the entire organizing team so that if it becomes necessary to consider cancelling or postponing an event, money-related deadlines are front and center.
2. For vendor contracts with scheduled deposits/payments, I’d like us to simply pay venue deposits on the schedule outlined by the contract. In the past we’ve paid these in one lump sum to decrease the number of transactions, but reducing the financial risk associated with cancelling or postponing an event should come first right now.
3. Publish a page on your WordCamp website, with up-to-date information about any special measures the organizing team will take to ensure attendee health, and what sources of information the team is monitoring to assess risk.
4. If your team is struggling with making a decision about whether to continue with a planned event, please reach out to community team deputies via support@wordcamp.org for advice and support. You’re not alone!

If you have any concerns about these new recommendations, please comment on this post — if you have any suggestions for additional recommendations, please share those as well!