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An Old Companion Returns
In another sign of the world getting back to something like normal, norovirus, that recurring bane of cruises, conventions, and other large gatherings, is currently enjoying a highly successful revival tour of the northern hemisphere. Infection rates are 66% above normal in the UK, test positivity rates are spiking in the US, and health agencies everywhere are trying to get the word out about how easily it spreads.
In addition to being spectacularly contagious, noroviruses are also very hardy. The alcohol-based hand sanitizers which are everywhere now are not sufficient to kill them. Neither will many other common measures, as the ECDC fact sheet notes:
Noroviruses are relatively resistant in the environment: they can survive freezing as well as high temperatures (up to 60°C [140°F]). The viruses survive long periods on different surfaces. Steam cooking of shellfish may allow them to survive. It is important to notice that the viruses can survive in up to 10 ppm chlorine, well in excess of levels routinely present in public drinking water systems (less that 2 ppm).
“Long periods” here means the viruses can survive for weeks on communal surfaces like elevator buttons, door handles, serving spoons, etc. Noroviruses can also reach you through contaminated food. And for those of you saying “At least this one doesn’t require masks,” there is evidence that viral particles can be aerosolized during vomiting or when a toilet is flushed.
Beyond avoiding shared bathrooms, your best defense is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap, which is effective against noroviruses, after using the restroom and before eating or preparing food. And if you do develop symptoms, the best thing you can do for the sake of your fellow fans is to not go to that convention, or if you’re there already, to isolate yourself as best you can. Norovirus infection may not be as deadly as COVID-19, but it is not any more fun. As Betsy Lundsten, chair of the 2008 WisCon which suffered a notable outbreak and got a norovirus strain named for it, notes, “I do not recommend chairing a con while projectile vomiting.”
In Brief
The Lovecraft Arts & Science Council, the nonprofit organization behind NecronomiCon Providence, is running a GoFundMe to fill pandemic-induced gaps in its budget. At press time it had raised $11,575 toward a goal of $20,000.
Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, May 5-7) has added Sean Schemmel and Tom Welling as guests.
Event Calendar
Weekend of February 24-26
MystiCon, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Ret-Con, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Total Confusion 37 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Plattecon XXXVI: Year of the Haunt (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
CalCon 29 (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
SoRCon 14 (boardgames), Basildon, UK
Gamicon Gallium (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
DualCon (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
LootFest (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
K2 Convention (gaming), Dungarvan, Ireland
GenghisCon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Escape Winter Con 2023 (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
TantrumCon (boardgames), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
PrezCon 2023 (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Kawacon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Fanime Expo (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA
Japan Expo Sud 2023: Ready to Investigate? (anime), Marseille, France
Anime Crossroads 2023, Plainfield, Indiana, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA
Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA
ATL Comic Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Weekend of March 3-5
AggieCon 52, College Station, Texas, USA
CoastCon 45, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
Roscon-2023, Moscow, Russia
VancouFur 2023: Beyond Furmageddon (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Fur the ‘More 2023: Time Travelers' Reunion (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Cardboard*Con (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
BashCon 37 (gaming), Toledo, Ohio, USA
Dice Tower West (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA
CincyCon 2023 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA
Tennessee Game Days Spring 2023, Franklin, Tennessee, USA
Intercon U: Ultraviolet (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
FreeCon 19 (anime), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
Tora-Con 2023 (anime), Rochester, New York, USA
PeoriaCon 2023 (media), Peoria, Illinois, USA
Middle East Film & Comic Con, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA
Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA
Sunrise Comic Con, Sunrise, Florida, USA
Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA
Mid-week convention: Harucon 2023 (anime), Jerusalem, Israel
Weekend of March 10-12
Picocon 40, London, UK
Nerdi Gras, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
MarsCon 2023: When Books Come Alive!, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Pulp Fiction Central, Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 11, Tucson, Arizona, USA
World Steampunk Exposition, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
Cosplay Up! 2023 (costuming), Manila, Philippines
AireCon (gaming), Harrogate, UK
Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA
Great Plains Game Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Arizona Game Fair, Mesa, Arizona, USA
GAD-CON 2023 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA
ShushCon 2023 (gaming), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA
MidWinter ‘23 (gaming), Haugesund, Norway
Sioux City Game Con Spring 2023, Sioux City, Iowa, USA
Louisville Arcade Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
PrinceCon 46: Le Petit PrinceCon (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Lost Golaricon 2023 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Cold Wars 2023 (miniatures gaming), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
MinamiCon 28 (anime), Southampton, UK
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Animeverse Fest (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Colorado Anime Fest 2023, Denver, Colorado, USA
ACEcon 2023 (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, USA
Weekend of March 17-19
Cleveland ConCoction, Aurora, Ohio, USA
WOWCon Beyond (women in media and geekdom), Dallas, Texas, USA
OutlantaCon: Resume Play (LGBTQ+ geekdom), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
44th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, Florida, USA
Furnal Equinox: Tales From the Tavern (anthropomorphic), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Texas Furry Fiesta: Attack of the Jackafluffies! (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA
Blue Ridge Furfare 2023: Mainfurame Meltdown (anthropomorphic), online
Marmalade Dog 26 (gaming), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Token Con (gaming), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Zuiderspel (gaming), Veldhoven, Netherlands
Ludesco (gaming), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Breakout 2023 (gaming), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2023, Garden City, New York, USA
SIMCON 44 (boardgames), Rochester, New York, USA
GOBfest (boardgames), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Playthrough (video games), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
COSCON XXXII (RPGs), Lyndora, Pennsylvania, USA
Concrete Cow (RPGs), Milton Keynes, UK
Ambercon US (diceless RPGs), Livonia, Michigan, USA
Anime Impulse San Diego, Del Mar, California, USA
ScottyCon (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Kikori Con 2023 (anime), Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
My-Con (media), Orlando, Florida, USA
Collective Con (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA
CarrierCon 2023 (media), Alameda, California, USA
Bedford Who Charity Con 8 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK
Weekend of March 24-26
FantaSci 2023: Here Be Dragons, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Fluke 2023 (independent comics and zines), Athens, Georgia, USA
Motor City Furry Con: Fur Imagination, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Thaitails Siam Sawasdee (anthropomorphic), Bangkok, Thailand
Woods Flock (anthropomorphic), Spencer, Tennessee, USA
GameStorm 23, Portland, Oregon, USA
WittCon XVIII: Magic vs. Machines (gaming), Springfield, Ohio, USA
Gary Con XV (gaming), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Ludinord (gaming), Mons-En-Barœul, France
LeiriaCon (gaming), Leiria, Portugal
WillowCon (gaming), Wayne, Nebraska, USA
Fargo GameFest, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
FallsCon 2023 (gaming), Wichita Falls, Kansas, USA
PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Hotlead (miniatures gaming), Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Adepticon 2023 (wargaming), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Not-A-Con 2023 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Alcoa, Tennessee, USA
Nadeshicon (anime), Québec City, Québec, Canada
EvilleCon (anime), Evansville, Indiana, USA
SwampCon Pantheon (anime), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Isekai Anime Con, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
AnimeJapan 2023, Tokyo, Japan
Zenkaikon 2023 (anime), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
ExpOtaku Almería 2023 (anime), Almería, Spain
Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand
GalaxyCon Richmond (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Fan Expo Cleveland (media), Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Island Entertainment Expo (media), Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
WonderCon 2023 (media), Anaheim, California, USA
Revelcon 33: The Wedding Episode (media relaxacon), Houston, Texas, USA
Coda
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