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SMOF News, volume 2, issue 25

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SMOF News, volume 2, issue 25

Noroviruses are very in this year, and news in brief.

Petréa Mitchell
Feb 23, 2023
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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

  • Monaco Anime Game International Conference, Monaco

  • 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

  • Library cats, mapped worldwide

Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.

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