DisCon III emailed members on December 25 about three more positive test results among people who attended last week’s Worldcon, as their COVID response team continues to track contacts after the convention. Overall, twenty-six people have reported positive test results, one of which was a false positive.

Here are links to the earlier reports:

• Cases A through E: “DisCon III Covid Update”(December 21)
• Cases F through I: “DisCon III Reports Four More Test Positive”(December 22)
• Cases J through Q: “DisCon III Releases Third Covid Update”(December 23)
• Cases R and S: “DisCon III Reports Two More Test Positive for Covid”(December 24)
• Cases T through V: “DisCon III Reports Additional Positive Covid Tests on December 25” (December 25)

DisCon III’s Covid team will phase out reporting shortly:

As we move further in time from DisCon III, it becomes increasingly difficult to be certain that any given COVID case was contracted at the convention instead of during post-convention activities. Tomorrow will be our last daily email. We will send another update one week later, but we will generally limit our reporting to tests conducted before 12/26 whose results were delayed in arriving, or to members who were symptomatic before 12/26 but had difficulty obtaining tests.

December 26th Update

Case W

• Received positive PCR test results on Sunday, 26th December, from a test conducted on Wednesday, 22nd December
• Has congestion and coughing which began worsening on Tuesday, 21st December
• Stayed at the Days Inn
• Was at DisCon III Wednesday through Saturday
• Visited the dealer’s room and art show
• Was at both the Masquerade and the Hugo Awards
• Attended program items including:
  • What Makes a Classic a Classic?
  • Changing Genes, Can We Should We?
  • But I Don’t Want To Be A Hero
  • The Work of Nancy Kress
  • The Fallout of Being the Chosen One
  • Nancy Kress in Conversation
  • Science Talk 4: Climate Change
  • The Future of Work: Post Pandemic Edition
  • Science Talk 12: The James Webb Space Telescope
  • The Softer Side of Science Fiction
  • The Never-Ending Story: Series Fiction
  • Gary K. Wolfe Interviews Nancy Kress
  • They Flubbed the Landing: Disappointing Finales
  • Is The Genre Too Big for Meaningful Hugos?
  • The Magnificent Novella
  • 2020 Ruined My Novel!
  • Science Talk 10: Telescopes and Radio Waves
  • Why Won’t You Stay Dead?
• Unmasked to eat lunch in the hall on December 16th, in the Blue Room Prefunction on December 17th, and in the Ambassador Ballroom on December 18th, generally around 12:30 pm
• Ate dinner at Gormand Grill on December 15th (6:30 pm), Rajaji December 16th (6:30 pm), Mayhuel December 17th (5 pm), and Naanwise December 18th (6:30 pm)

Case X

• Received positive results with a home antigen test kit on Friday, December 24, after testing negative on Wednesday, December 22
• Stayed at the Churchill as part of a group of four; all other group members have tested negative
• Attended DisCon III all five days
• Ate in the Ambassador Room
• Visited the dealer’s room
• Attended Opening Ceremonies and the Masquerade
• Participated in Pick, Pass, Play Filk on Friday night and in the Open Mic Poetry Reading

Cases Y and Z – Russ Kinnard and Deb Kinnard, named with permission

• Tested positive on an antigen test on Sunday, December 26th, after testing negative on a PCR test conducted on Wednesday, December 22nd
• Symptomatic since Tuesday, December 21st
• Stayed on-site
• Visited the dealer’s room repeatedly
• Attended Opening Ceremonies, the Hugo Awards (Russ only), Wednesday night Open Filk, and several panels in the Calvert Room
• Attended the Heinlein Society party Thursday night and Jon Brazee’s signing
• Ate dinner at Robert’s Restaurant, Open City, Afghan Grill, the bistro that serves crepes, and MacIntyre’s

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19?

• Tell the convention at [email protected]. We will keep your name private but may share anonymized information about your activities for contract-tracing purposes.
• If your positive test result was from an at-home antigen test, try to obtain a PCR test for confirmation.
• Think about where you were and if you had your mask off.
• Inform anyone you know personally and were in close contact with about your test result
• Close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more within 2 days prior to illness onset, regardless of whether the contact was wearing a mask.
• The CDC recommends a 10-day isolation period. Day zero is the first day you develop symptoms or test positive.