COVID & NIIC 

NIIC’s Community of Care Covid Safety Requirements 
Gathering Together Safely at this Time
Updated August 23, 2021

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We will be gathering at this year’s NIIC amidst unprecedented circumstances. We are eager to finally reconnect with each other and resume in-person work and events. At the same time, we remain vigilant while our nation continues to face challenges in vaccination rates and accessibility, and as we monitor the recent uptick of cases across the country. Many of us have also lost family members, leaders and community members to COVID. We are a community of advocates that care deeply about the communities we serve, and equity and safety for all.

Holding all of this, we are planning our experience on-site in Las Vegas for NIIC with the utmost care: the safety of all at NIIC, our participants, guests and volunteers, and the staff at our venue, are front and center throughout. We are approaching this year’s NIIC through a Community of Care lens for all of us, our organizations, and our footprint for this year’s conference in Nevada. 

The following protocols and requirements are in place for ALL in-person attendees, guests, staff and volunteers in the NIIC spaces:

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

VACCINE REQUIREMENT:  In an effort to protect public health, we require that all NIIC attendees be vaccinated. Those with health or religious exemptions will be asked to indicate their exemption during registration.

MASKS ARE REQUIRED: Everyone in the NIIC space must wear a mask in all public/shared  indoor spaces. This will be NIIC’s policy even if Clark County, NV does not require it.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED: As always, only those registered for NIIC, our invited guests and those working in the space are allowed access to NIIC’s spaces.  Please make sure you are wearing your conference credentials at all times.


ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS

SANITIZING OF CONFERENCE SPACES:  NIIC’s venue has strong sanitizing protocols in place throughout the property. For more information see here. Hand sanitizer will be available in all of the NIIC spaces.

LOW CONTACT REGISTRATION: NIIC’s Registration Area will be a “low contact” area including social distancing practices.

SOCIAL DISTANCING: NIIC will practice social distancing in all our meeting rooms and meal spaces with ample space between seats. This includes all our sessions --our MainStage Plenaries, issue area Tracks and Special Sessions.

NIIC also has more space than the size of our program will require specifically to ensure that we have ample room to spread out and move through our spaces easily. Our conference is the only on-site event in our venue’s meeting spaces over these dates.

PERSONAL SPACE: YOUR CHOICE: All NIIC participants will be provided with the option to wear a wristband indicating they are personally practicing additional distancing and need a little extra personal space -- no hugs, handshakes, etc.

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO: YOUR CHOICE: For the first time, NIIC will be providing the option to collect emergency contact information for all our attendees. In the event of any emergency impacting a participant, NIIC will be in touch with these contacts.

REFUNDS / CANCELLATIONS IN THE EVENT OF EMERGENCY: We have the most generous refund policy for this year’s NIIC. Should you need to cancel your attendance due to Covid or any other emergency, you will be fully refunded. Refunds are also available for any reason at any time with modest administrative fees. For more details see here.

REMINDER: Cancelling your NIIC registration does not automatically cancel any hotel room reservation you have made at NIIC’s venue the Westgate Las Vegas. Hotel room cancellations must be made directly with the Westgate. For those details, see here.

VACCINATION & TESTING FAQS

VACCINATION INFO:  We require that all NIIC In-person attendees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. To be fully vaccinated, your last vaccination dose must have been completed 14 days prior to your arrival date at NIIC. For vaccination information, please see the CDS’s information here. 

HEALTH COMES FIRST: DO NOT ATTEND NIIC IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING APPLY TO YOU OR ANYONE IN YOUR TRAVELING PARTY:

  • If you test positive for COVID-19 within 14-days prior to your arrival at NIIC, do not attend and please cancel your registration immediately. 

  • If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive within 14-days prior to your arrival at NIIC, do not attend and please cancel your registration immediately.

  • If you become ill or begin exhibiting signs of COVID-19 onsite or just prior to your arrival (within 48 hours), do NOT attend NIIC sessions and contact NIIC for support, including cancellation of  your registration. Signs of COVID-19 include: a fever of 100.4F or higher, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking muscle pain/achiness, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, nasal congestion, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue or any other symptoms associated with COVID-19 identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

  • Within 14 days prior to attending the conference, you have travelled to any international territory identified by federal or applicable state or local governments as being subject to travel or quarantine advisories due to COVID-19.

NIIC will share additional updates with all NIIC participants in advance of the conference and when we are gathered together onsite. 

We hope these considerations help put you at ease, and we will continue to closely monitor the guidelines, guidance and any restrictions of the CDC, State of Nevada and Clark County where our venue, The Westgate Las Vegas, is located to ensure our utmost safety during NIIC 2021.

Additional Questions

If we can answer any questions or you have additional concerns, please contact us at: [email protected].