COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for MediaMAX Events & Expos

MediaMAX Events & Expos is committed to encouraging a safe and healthy Expo Experience for our staff, Exhibitors, and Attendees. To encourage that, we have developed the following Preparedness Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers are all responsible for implementing this plan, however, MediaMAX Events & Expos does not have employment control over vendors, subcontractors, their staff or employees. All attendees and vendors and their staff, are independently responsible for following the guidelines.  Our goal is to mitigate the potential for transmission of COVID-19 in our workplaces, and that requires full cooperation among workers and management. Only through this cooperative effort can we establish and maintain the safety and health of our workers and workplaces.

We are serious about safety and health. MediaMAX Events & Expos managers’ involvement is essential in developing and implementing a successful COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. We have involved our facilities, vendors, and staff in this process by sharing this new COVID-19 preparedness plan with them.

The preparedness plan will be posted at the MediaMAX Events & Expos office, on the MediaMAX Events & Expos website, as well as within each Expo Hall. Managers, staff, Exhibitors, subcontractors, and attendees who may have come into contact with the COVID-19 virus are being asked to stay home, following the CDC guidelines. Email, phone, and teleconferencing are all being utilized in preparation for communicating with symptomatic workers, should the need arise.

Our Preparedness Plan follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines and federal OSHA standards related to COVID-19 and addresses:

1. Infection prevention measures:
   1. Vendor Spacing – Vendors are situated in the middle of their 10’ booths meaning each are generally 8 to 9’ apart while maintaining a 6’+ distance away from the show attendees. We are also limiting each booth to (1) worker per booth.
   2. Wider aisle – we are increasing aisle width from 8ft to 10ft (minimum) to provide space for social distancing among attendees.
   3. Booth set-up - All vendors are asked to relocate their table-tops to the front of their booth, creating a physical barrier between vendors and attendees.
   4. Social Distancing – Signs will be posted at each entrance & exit as well as throughout the Expo Hall encouraging proper social distance measures are followed inside the Expo facilities.
   5. Limited capacity – as of 6/5/2020, Governor Walz has imposed a limit of 250 people occupancy inside Expo venues. To comply, we are limiting vendors to (1) worker per booth. We will also track each attendee entering and/or exiting Expo Halls using a Crowd Control Tally Counter. Tallying will take place outside the Expo Hall to control the amount of people inside the Expo Hall. The capacity inside the Expo Hall is never to exceed the 250 count at any given time during move-in, Expo hours, and move-out.
   6. HEPA certified filtration units added throughout the Expo Halls.
   7. Limiting time at the expo – we encourage all attendees to shop solo and limit their duration at the each of the events.
   8. Free attendance – All Expos are now free to attend, eliminating the need to exchange tickets, coupons, checks, or cash.
   9. “No-Contact” Experience – we are including with our correspondence with all Exhibitors our new Exhibitor COVID Precautions Policy, which details items mentioned in this Preparedness Plan, in addition to encouraging them and their workers to wear masks, wear gloves, monitor health, and avoid sharing items such as pens, tablet computers, phones, keyboards, etc. All Staff, Exhibitors, and Attendees are encouraged to stay home if they exhibit fever, cold, or flu-like symptoms before or the Expo.
   10. No food consumption - No food sampling or food-consumption on site.
   11. No speakers – Speaker/seminar/demo areas have been eliminated to avoid congregation in any particular area of the Expo Hall
   12. Vendors will be encouraged to wear gloves and face masks. We highly recommend that each vendor bring their own washing station.
   13. Sanitation – sanitation stations will be set up at the entrance/exit of the Expo Halls as well as throughout the Expo Halls to encourage healthy hygiene. Stations will include hand sanitizer, gravity water sinks, and paper towels.
   14. Personal Protection Equipment – all Staff, Exhibitors, and attendees are encouraged to wear masks at all times while inside the Expo Halls. Exhibitors, their workers, and attendees will be responsible for providing their own PPE but we will have 50-150 masks & gloves at each Expo, available upon request. As of 7/22/2020, Governor Walz has mandated that in Minnesota masks shall be worn at all times while inside public buildings.
2. Prompt identification and isolation of sick persons:
   1. Skin thermometers will be on-site to check temperature of all staff and attendees entering Expo Halls.
   2. Emails will be sent out prior to each show reminding vendors to stay home if:
      1. A new fever (100.4°F or higher), or a sense of having a fever
      2. A new cough that cannot be attributed to another health condition
      3. New shortness of breath cannot be attributed to another health condition
      4. A new sore throat that cannot be attributed to another health condition
      5. New muscle aches that cannot be attribute to another health condition, or that may have been caused by a specific activity (such as physical exercise).
      6. Information will be posted on each event website and Social Media Page explaining the same above recommendations for all attendees.

1. Engineering and administrative controls for social distancing:
   1. Crowd Tally Counters will be used outside the Expo Halls to maintain at or below occupancy of 250 people inside Expo Halls at any given time.
   2. Aisles will be one-way only, allowing us to control flow of traffic. Signs will be added to each aisle to clearly indicate direction of traffic.
   3. Entrances/exits will be propped open to allow for contactless enter and exit.
   4. Signs will be posted at each entrance and throughout the Expo Halls to encourage social distancing as well as practical steps people can take to limit risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.
2. Housekeeping, including cleaning, disinfecting and decontamination: Hand washing and sanitizing stations will be available in each vendor aisle for customers to use. We encourage frequent and thorough hand washing.
3. Communications and training for managers and workers necessary to implement the plan:
   1. Signs have already been posted at the MediaMAX Events & Expos office outlining the plan. Our plan can also be found online at: https://mediamaxevents.com/covid-19-new-normal-policy/
   2. All staff will be instructed and coached prior to each event, the importance of following the COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.
   3. Staff will be available during all times of the event if questions regarding the Preparedness Plan arise.
4. Provision of management and supervision necessary to ensure effective ongoing implementation of the plan: Management will be on-site during all hours of the event to encourage effective ongoing implementation of the plan.

All points are expanded upon below:

Screening and policies for employees exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19.

MediaMAX Events & Expos managers are informed of and encouraged to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. The following policies and procedures are being implemented to assess workers’ health status prior to entering the workplace and for workers to report when they are sick or experiencing symptoms.

Managers will be checked daily with a temperature gun and sent home if they exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms. Managers who do exhibit symptoms will be asked to quarantine for the required 14 days, as recommended by the CDC. Reminders will be posted throughout the Expo Hall to encourage exhibitors and attendees to do the same. MediaMAX Events & Expos will also communicated this to all Vendors prior to the show in an email and verbally during Vendor Move-in hours. Attendees will be reminded to screen themselves prior to attending the show, through our website, MediaMAXEvents.com, and Social Media Pages. Our goal is to take every precautionary step to prevent infected persons from entering the Expo Halls.

MediaMAX Events & Expos has implemented leave policies that promote mangers staying at home when they are sick, when household members are sick, or when required by a health care provider to isolate or quarantine themselves or a member of their household. Managers who display symptoms of the COVID-19 virus will be asked to quarantine for 14 days, per the CDC guidelines – after which they will be allowed to return to work. Accommodations for managers with underlying medical conditions or who have household members with underlying health conditions have been implemented. Managers with underlying medical conditions are asked to take special precautions and to greatly limit exposure.

MediaMAX Events & Expos has also implemented a policy for informing managers if they have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 at their workplace and requiring them to quarantine for the required amount of time. Managers who have been exposed to COVID-19 will be notified via telephone and email.

In addition, a policy has been implemented to protect the privacy of managers’ health status and health information. No personal information will be shared without prior consent.

Handwashing

Basic infection prevention measures are being implemented at our workplaces at all times. Managers are instructed to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water frequently throughout the day, but especially at the beginning and end of their shift, prior to any mealtimes and after using the toilet. All visitors to the facility will be encouraged to wash their hands prior to or immediately upon entering the facility. Some Expo Facilities may have hand-sanitizer dispensers (that use sanitizes of greater than 60% alcohol) that can be used for hand hygiene in place of soap and water, as long as hands are not visibly soiled.

MediaMAX Events & Expos will provide sanitation and hand-washing stations throughout the Expo halls, available to Vendors and Attendees to use at their discretion. Stations will include hand sanitizer, paper towels, hands-free gravity water sinks, and gloves. MediaMAX Events & Expos staff will monitor stations throughout the duration of the event to ensure supplies are properly supplied and maintained.

Respiratory etiquette:  Cover your cough or sneeze

Managers, vendors and visitors are encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with their sleeve or a tissue when coughing or sneezing and to avoid touching their face, in particular their mouth, nose and eyes, with their hands. They should dispose of tissues in the trash and wash or sanitize their hands immediately afterward. Respiratory etiquette will be demonstrated on posters and supported by making tissues and trash receptacles available to all workers and visitors.

Signs will be placed at the entrance/exit and throughout the Expo Hall reminding workers, vendors, and attendees to follow social distancing and respiratory etiquette. Where available, we will also announce reminders over the PA system every hour. Prior to each event, reminders will be included within all show communication with vendors.

Social distancing

Social distancing is being implemented in the workplace through the following engineering and administrative controls:

1. Vendor Spacing – Vendors are situated in the middle of their 10’ booths meaning each are generally 8 to 9’ apart while maintaining a 6’+ distance away from the show attendees.
2. Physical barriers – All vendors will have a table located at the front of their booth, creating a physical barrier between vendors and attendees.
3. Wider Vendor Aisles – All aisles will be increased to be 10′ wide (or wider).
4. Social Distancing Signs – Signs will be posted at entrance/exit and throughout the Expo Hall encouraging proper social distance measures are followed.
5. Limiting time at the expo – we encourage all attendees to shop solo and limit their duration at the each of the events.
6. All shows will be free for attendees, thus eliminating the need to exchange tickets, coupons, or cash.
7. No food sampling or food-consumption on site.
8. Speakers areas have been eliminated to avoid congregation in any particular area of the Expo Hall
9. Vendors will be encouraged to wear gloves and face masks. We highly recommend that each vendor bring their own washing station.
10. Crowd Control Tally Counter – no more than 250 people are allowed to be inside the Expo Halls at any given time. We will tabulate the amount of people entering and exiting the Expo Halls to ensure this number is never exceeded.

Workers and visitors are prohibited from gathering in groups and confined areas, including elevators, and from using other workers’ personal protective equipment, phones, computer equipment, desks, cubicles, workstations, offices or other personal work tools and equipment.

Housekeeping

Regular housekeeping practices are being implemented, including routine cleaning and disinfecting of work surfaces, equipment, tools and machinery, and areas in the work environment, including restrooms, break rooms, lunch rooms and meeting rooms. Frequent cleaning and disinfecting will be conducted in high-touch areas, such as phones, keyboards, touch screens, controls, door handles, elevator panels, railings, copy machines, etc.

At the Expo Sites: MediaMAX Events & Expos will do their part to clean and handles and surfaces that lead into and out of the Expo Halls, including bathroom doors. These surfaces will be cleaned every hour, on the hour, during the duration of the show. Most venues have automatic doors that allow for hands-free enter/exit. Those that do not, will have doors permanently opened during the hours of the expo to avoid having workers/vendors/attendees open or close them. Venue managers have staff on-site to help sanitize facility surfaces, in addition to staff MediaMAX Events & Expos supplies.

Should anyone within the Expo Hall become diagnosed with COVID-19 they will be immediately be removed from the Expo Hall and all surfaces the diagnosed individual came into contact with will be sanitized further.