Case Counts, National Event Research, Suggest Low-Risk, Ordinary Meeting
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Oklahoma’s COVID-19 case count in late September was 41 percent lower than the Aug. 30 case count, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH).
In a 30-day period that ended Sept. 27, 91 percent of hospitalizations from COVID-19 occurred in people who were not vaccinated.
“With a decrease in overall cases, breakthrough infections and hospitalizations over the past month, combined with the rollout of the booster dose for eligible populations, I’m hopeful that our state will continue to see positive progress in our pandemic response,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye.
This news from the host state of our Marketing & Distribution Convention coincides with research findings from event planning firm Freeman that “you are dramatically less likely to contract COVID-19 at a business event than by simply performing day-to-day activities such as grocery shopping.”
The mid-August research, which Freeman conducted in partnership with Epistemix, a modeling software company that develops simulations to fight disease, found that infection rates at business events were as much as 95 percent lower than the average across the U.S. over the same time period.
Data from August, which was collected from two dozen cities considered key event venues, show an infection rate at business events of less than a tenth of a percent, Epistemix found.
Among key factors reducing the risk:
- Business event attendees tend to be vaccinated (80 percent at the time of the study);
- Events are relatively isolated and controlled;
- Attendees value the in-person networking and take steps to assure it can continue.
The Association will honor COVID-19 protocols established by the Omni Oklahoma City as well as city, county, and state requirements. As of today, that means we will host the convention without masks or distancing requirements. We will, of course, honor the wishes of attendees who prefer to keep a distance or take extra precautions.