Big Brew 2020 – Cancelled

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Hey Everyone,

I’ve been following the COVID-19 situation very closely and have been considering cancelling the event for a few days now. This isn’t a decision I’m making lightly. I’m basing it on the recommended practices by the WHO and the Canadian Government.

In many cases the general recommendation has been for cancellation of events with 250+ attendee’s. However there is more to it than just that one number. There have been many recommendations of social distancing by the WHO and Canadian government sites. It’s important to note that there are many criteria that play into implementing social distancing for events.

There are many resources that assist in determining what the appropriate action should be. When I run our event through those guidelines there are a few key points that indicate that we should cancel the event. I’ve listed the top three below.

  1. “Event Duration”. We will be spending a prolonged period of time within this close proximity.
  2. “Crowding”. Under this section we have two issues:
    1. We will be indoors.
    2. We be within 2 metres of each other (Note the WHO guideline is 1 metre).
  3. “Can the event be configured to maintain a 2 metre distance between participants?” No. There just isn’t enough room.

Given we’ll be in close quarters for such a lengthy time without being able to maintain the recommended separation increases the risk by our event.

You can find more information here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/mass-gatherings-risk-assesment.html

So given this information, I’ve decided to cancel the Big Brew event. At this time rescheduling the event is not possible. The COVID-19 issue will likely take a few months to sort out and that will put us into the busy season for all the breweries.

I know this is an event that many (including myself) look forward to all year. However, there is always next year. In the meantime, let’s all be safe.

Cheers,
Sean.