Masking
The organizers strongly encourage wearing masks inside. (See policies below for details.)
Vaccination
While we assume that most if not all participants have been vaccinated, we do not have any legal basis for checking vaccination. (See policies below for details.)
ACM Rules for Physical Participants
When registering for physical participation, you have to agree to the ACM COVID-19 Disclosure and Liability Waiver as part of the registration process.
ACM COVID-19 DISCLOSURE & LIABILITY WAIVER
The Association for Computing Machinery (“ACM”) requires that any attendee or volunteer at ICER 2022 (the “Event”) review the following material on COVID-19 prior to attending the Event.
COVID-19 Safety Information
COVID-19 has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization. Evidence has shown that COVID-19 can cause serious and potentially life-threatening illness and even death. ACM urges each Event attendee or volunteer to review the Event venue’s safety protocols, should they be available, in advance of deciding whether to attend the Event. ACM cannot guarantee that its participants, volunteers, partners, or any others in attendance will not become infected with COVID-19.
Obligation to Comply with COVID-19 Safety Measures
In light of the ongoing spread of COVID-19, individuals who fall within any of the categories below should not attend the Event. By attending the Event you certify that you do not fall into any of the following categories:
1. Individuals who currently or within the past 14 days have experienced any symptoms associated with COVID-19, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath, among others; or
2. Individuals who believe that they may have been exposed to a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19; or
3. Individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are not yet cleared as non-contagious by state or local public health authorities or the health care team responsible for their treatment.
Additionally, if you traveled to the Event (or have traveled at any point in the past 14 days), either internationally or domestically, you must review and comply with all international, state, and local travel requirements. You are responsible for reviewing and complying with these travel requirements.
Duty to Self-Monitor
Participants and volunteers at the Event agree to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and, contact ACM at conferencestaff@acm.org if you are diagnosed with COVID-19 within 14 days after participating or volunteering at the Event.
Liability Waiver and Release of Claims
I acknowledge that I derive personal satisfaction and a benefit by virtue of my participation and/or attendance at this Event and I willingly engage in this Event.
In connection with the exposure, infection, and/or spread of COVID-19 at the Event, I hereby forever release, waive and discharge any and all liability, claims, and demands of whatever kind or nature against ACM and its affiliated partners and sponsors, including in each case, without limitation, its and their directors, officers, employees, volunteers and agents (the “Released Parties”), either in law or in equity, to the fullest extent permissible by law. This waiver includes damages or losses caused by the negligence, fault or conduct of any kind on the part of the Released Parties. This waiver includes, but is not limited to, death, bodily injury, illness, economic loss or out of pocket expenses, or loss or damage to property, which I, my heirs, assignees, next of kin and/or legally appointed representatives may hereinafter accrue on my behalf, which arise or may hereafter arise from my participation in the Event.
Assumption of the Risk
I acknowledge and understand the following:
1. Participation in this Event includes possible exposure to and illness from infectious diseases including but not limited to COVID-19. While particular rules and personal discipline may reduce this risk, the risk of serious illness and death does exist; and
2. I hereby knowingly and freely assume all such risks related to illness and infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, even if arising from the negligence or fault of the Released Parties; and
3. I hereby knowingly assume the responsibility of reviewing the Event venue’s safety protocols before deciding whether to attend the Event and acknowledge that the decision of whether to attend the Event is solely mine; and
4. I hereby knowingly assume the risk of injury, harm and loss associated with the Event, including any injury,harm, and loss caused by the negligence, fault or conduct of any kind on the part of the Released Parties; and
5. I hereby knowingly assume the risk of any COVID-19 related travel costs I may incur in connection with attendance at the Event, including, but not limited to, the costs associated with any mandatory quarantine regulations, cancelled travel, etc.
Choice of Law and Forum
I understand that the law of the State of New York will apply to this agreement and that the exclusive venue for any dispute arising out of this agreement shall be the State or Federal courts in New York (USA).
What obligations do I have as a physical participant?
You must follow the “Obligation to Comply with COVID-19 Safety Measures” set out by ACM (see above). This includes that you must not attend the event, or must stop attending the event, if you experience or have recently experienced symptoms, believe to have been exposed, or have been diagnosed but not yet cleared as non-contagious (see above).
In addition, for the parts of the conference taking place on the USI campus (which means all but the social events), you have to follow the COVID-19 Protection Provisions of USI.
What are the COVID-19 entry requirements for Switzerland?
See the Coronavirus: Travel page of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
(At the time of this writing, there are no entry restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No proof of vaccination, recovery or testing is required for entry into Switzerland. To be sure, check the information provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.)
What information does the State of Ticino provide about COVID-19?
See the COVID-19 page for Viaggiatori / travelers.
What are the COVID-19 entry requirements for Italy?
Note that if you fly to Milano airports (Malpensa, Linate, Bergamo), you really fly to Italy. Thus you need to enter Italy, before entering Switzerland. (If you fly into Zurich, you can stay in Switzerland all along.) To fly out of Milano, you will have to leave Switzerland and enter Italy. Thus, you need to fulfill requirements for Italy.
For more information, see the COVID-19 information by the Italian embassy in Switzerland.
(At the time of this writing, there are no entry restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No proof of vaccination, recovery or testing is required for entry into Italy. To be sure, check the information provided by the Italian embassy.)
What COVID-19 testing facilities are available in Switzerland if I need one to return to my home country?
Many pharmacies (“farmacia”) and most medical practitioners (“studio medico”) offer COVID tests.
What are the closest testing facilities to ICER?
The state of Ticino provides the official list of COVID-19 test facilities in the Lugano area.
If I test positive and have to extend my stay, what do I do?
As long as there are no restrictions in Switzerland (at the time of this writing there are none), you would be allowed to travel within Switzerland even with COVID. And you could stay in hotels. However, hotel availability is limited in August (high season), thus it might be expensive to find accommodation.
What about testing facilities at airports?
Zurich airport COVID-19 Information. They seem to provide facilities for PCR tests and Rapid antigen tests at the airport.
Milano Malpensa COVID-19 Information. Their MXP MED “offers the service of rapid and molecular antigenic swabs pcr to passengers”.