At the Gamescom trade fair in Cologne, thousands of computer game fans from all over the world will meet again for the first time since Corona. However, several tweets suggest that some visitors are knowingly wanting to participate while being covid-positive.
After a first trade visitor day, the computer and video game fair Gamescom in Cologne has also been open to “normal” visitors since Thursday. According to the trade fair, there was already a “strong rush” at 10 a.m. on the first day. Even after that there was a lot going on in the halls. However, concrete visitor numbers will only be announced in the final report.
Gamescom is both an industry get-together and a festival for the gaming scene. Many visitors came in disguises. Around 1100 exhibitors have announced themselves. However, a few large companies such as Sony, Nintendo and Electronic Arts, which used to fill half the halls, are missing. For Gamescom it is a kind of comeback as a “real event”: During the Corona pandemic, the fair switched to a digital format. The number of visitors from the pre-Corona period, when around 370,000 people came to Cologne in 2019, will probably not be reached this year.
First “real” Gamescom since Corona
Nevertheless, there are of course numerous people in the halls. Even if there is now hardly any awareness of the danger posed by the corona virus, this is a clear risk.
And it is precisely this situation that some gamers used to create uncertainty on Twitter by posting photos of positive corona tests with the comment that they still wanted to go to the game fair. Whether these are tasteless gags, or at least in some cases the truth – out of youthful carelessness and/or ignorance – cannot be said with certainty. In any case, the tweets reached their possible destination and caused a lot of uproar on the net.
Requests and advice instead of rules
The trade fair itself goes into the topic of Corona in great detail on its website – but it remains with requests and advice. Gamescom can be “visited without restrictions. However, Koelnmesse strongly recommends that you only enter the exhibition center if you have been vaccinated, recovered or tested and that you voluntarily wear medical mouth and nose protection,” it says. None of this is checked. After all: “Regardless of this, measures such as improved admission management, optimized visitor guidance, wider aisles or digital queue management will be implemented for Gamescom. At the same time, Koelnmesse is sticking to its extensive hygiene measures, such as disinfectant dispensers and regular cleaning intervals.”
If you want to be on the safe side, you should wear a mask indoors, at least for basic protection – even if this is now the exception rather than the rule.
Sources: dpa, Twitter, Gamescom