PaizoCon Contact Tracing

Dear PaizoCon attendees,

Thank you for attending PaizoCon 2022! We hope you had as wonderful a time playing games and participating in events as we did putting on the show. It was a much-needed return to PaizoCons of yore, and we can’t wait to continue offering in-person convention experiences in the years to come.

This year’s in-person PaizoCon wasn’t without its challenges, however, including several reports of COVID-19 infections among attendees. Paizo considers the health and well-being of all community members a priority, and we want to take this opportunity to inform you that individuals you may have had close contact with at PaizoCon 2022 have tested positive for, and/or shown symptoms consistent with, COVID-19. Close contact is defined as having shared a game table, panel space, or similar, to the best of our knowledge.

The following are all reported cases we’re aware of at the time of this post. For more up-to-date contact tracing information, please see the #contact-tracing channel of the PaizoCon Discord server located at https://paizo.events.

Report 1: An attendee started experiencing cold-like symptoms Monday, May 30, while traveling and tested positive later that evening. Their last negative test prior to the convention was before their flight to Seattle on Thursday, May 26.

Report 2: A Paizo staff member reported a positive test on Monday, May 30, after taking the test the previous evening. They had tested negative the previous Friday morning and had arrived at the show on Saturday. They were masked while wandering the show (they had no assigned tasks that day) and ate dinner at a nearby restaurant alone. On Sunday morning, they felt ill so went home without visiting the show. They tested positive later that evening.

Report 3: Two attendees who traveled to the show together and were in each other’s company the entire convention reported positive tests on Tuesday afternoon, May 31. They were masked most of the time, but not while outdoors or at meals. They were at the hotel bar hangout mostly maskless on Saturday night. Both began experiencing symptoms Monday afternoon/evening.

Report 4: An attendee reported testing positive on Tuesday, May 31. They flew into the convention the previous Thursday, ate at the hotel bar Thursday night and Friday afternoon, attended panels in the streaming room Friday through Sunday, and attended the Find the Path and Hideous Laughter podcast meetups. They flew back Monday morning and were wearing a mask consistently when not eating or drinking.

Report 5: An attendee reported a positive test on Thursday, June 2. They were in the Organized Play room all weekend and were masked consistently all weekend except when they ate alone at the hotel bar on Friday, and around the lobby cafe at other times.

Report 6: A Paizo staff member reported a positive test on Friday, June 3, after a few days of feeling bad. They spent most of their time in the Organized Play ballroom. They ate lunch in the hotel restaurant on Friday and Sunday but otherwise engaged in no other maskless activities at the convention.

Report 7: A Paizo staff member started experiencing symptoms Friday, June 3 and reported a positive test later that morning. The staff member spent most of their time at or near registration, did not participate in any panels or gaming events, and shared meals mostly with other Paizo staff members.

Report 8: An attendee working the Syrinscape booth in the lobby reported a positive test on Friday, June 3.

Paizo has reported these cases to the convention venue and King County Public Health, and will continue to work in concert with them as we monitor the situation.

We encourage all PaizoCon attendees to test for COVID-19 as soon as possible. Washington state residents can get free kits by mail at this site, all US residents can get tests at this site, and further guidance is available at the CDC’s website.

If you do test positive or exhibit symptoms, please contact us at paizocon@paizo.com so we can inform others you may have been in close contact with. Your information will never be shared publicly without your consent. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks,

-The Paizo Team