The city has issued guidelines for events which may take place during the COVID-19 pandemic such as Pigout, pictured in this file photo.

The city has issued guidelines for events which may take place during the COVID-19 pandemic such as Pigout, pictured in this file photo.

The city of Maysville, with input from the Buffalo Trace District Health Department, has adopted guidelines for events which may be held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidelines were adopted Thursday by Maysville City Commission. According to Maysville City Manager Matt Wallingford, the guidelines were compiled after meeting with health department and tourism officials.

“They are basically Healthy at Work type guidelines tailored for events,” Wallingford said.

Under the guidelines, mass gatherings are described as events that take place at convention centers, hotel ballrooms, and conference centers; and may include community events or gatherings; parades; races; concerts; weddings; fairs, festivals, and carnivals; family reunions; and any other event organized for more than 50 people at indoor or outdoor venues or event spaces.

According to the guidelines “The City of Maysville discourages all mass gatherings to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in our community. Private groups or individuals wishing to organize a mass gathering are encouraged to reschedule to a safer time. Should a private entity wish to proceed with organizing an event for which they require an assembly permit from the Maysville Police Department, they must first seek guidance from the Buffalo Trace District Health Department and agree to follow the established guidelines below:

Planning for the event

— The Healthy at Work Minimum Requirements must be met.

— Advertising for the event should encourage people not to attend if they are age 65 or older, suffer from diabetes, obesity, serious heart conditions, lung disease, or any other immunocompromised state; are sick; or have had a close contact with a person who has symptoms of COVID-19 within the past 14 days.

“Advertising for the event and signage posted at entrances and throughout the facility/space should alert staff and attendees to the required occupancy limits; maintaining six feet of physical distance; wearing masks when social distancing is not possible; and good hygiene practices (e.g. washing/sanitizing hands, not touching face, covering a sneeze or cough)

Arrival at the event

The guidelines advise “The occupancy of any venue or event space must be limited to the greatest number that permits social distancing (six feet) between people. This number may be determined by dividing the square footage of the space by six.”

—People living in the same household do not need to social distance or wear masks around each other.

— For spaces with limited capacity, a worker must keep count of the number of people entering and exiting to ensure that capacity is not exceeded.

— Maintain a record of persons attending the event and their contact information (telephone number preferred), and cooperate with state and/or local public official requests to notify attendees if the event is linked by contact tracing to high risk of COVID-19 exposure.

— Consider requiring attendees to have a ticket/wristband to help control the number of people admitted and provide the opportunity to acquire contact information.

— Check temperature of all staff or volunteers upon arrival, and dismiss anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees F or higher.

During the event

— Require all staff and encourage attendees to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible.

— Follow the Healthy at Work Requirements for Restaurants and Bars if any form of dining or drinking service is offered at the event.

— Any workers handling cash should wear gloves.

— Porta-potties, if used, should be spaced six feet apart with queue lines marked for spacing.

— Space any seating at least six feet apart to separate groups, and sanitize tables and seats between patrons.

Cleaning/Sanitization

— Develop and implement a plan and procedures to ensure the facility is properly cleaned and ventilated routinely.

— Ensure cleaning and sanitation of frequently touched surfaces with appropriate disinfectants.

— Provide hand washing/sanitizing stations at all restrooms and food locations for staff and attendees.

— Provide disinfecting wipes or other disinfectant at shared equipment.

— Provide gloves to employees and/or volunteers whose routine job duties include cleaning equipment, workspaces, and other high-touch areas.

— Dispose of trash as needed, anticipating that trash may accumulate more quickly due to greater use of disposable items. — Establish a cleaning and disinfecting process that follows CDC guidelines when any individual is identified, suspected, or confirmed to have COVID-19.

Contingency planning

— Develop a plan for what to do if someone suddenly becomes ill at the event (i.e. designate an isolated location for them to go to if needed).

— Close off and disinfect areas where an individual is identified, suspected, or confirmed to have COVID-19.

Plans have been developed for specific events including parades, festivals and races. They include:

Festivals

— For street festivals, plenty of street space should be blocked off to allow for social distancing.

— Retail sales should follow the Healthy at Work Requirements for Retail Businesses.

— Encourage customers to only touch items they intend to purchase, and mark items for final sale. •

Parades

— Modify the parade in order to reduce density of persons (e.g. extend parade route, encourage spacing between household groups along parade route, offer livestream or virtual participation, or limit the number of attendees if possible).

— Prohibit parade participants from distributing items to attendees.

Races

— Facilitate online registration and payment and/or allow for a longer registration period to avoid crowds gathering.

— Require all staff, volunteers, and participants to sign a mandatory declaration of health stating that they are not infected, have not had or been in contact with someone experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days (i.e. cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell).

— Provide hand sanitizer stations at the start and finish.

— Encourage participants to carry their own water.

— Do not hold an awards ceremony at the end of the race. Instead, consider announcing awards virtually.