COVID-19 & Infection Protection

Summary

• There are no mandatory measures.
• Please don't attend the event while being Covid-positive or having any other infectious disease.
• We ask everyone to voluntarily test themselves, preferably before arriving at the location each day.
• There is a limited amount of tests and masks available free of charge, mainly aimed at volunteers.
• You should bring your own tests and masks, find information on where you can get them below.
• We encourage you to wear a mask especially in crowded situations.

Situation

As with each year, there are various contagious respiratory diseases going around, including COVID-19. These will not go away anytime soon, and they can lead to severe symptoms for some people.

There are no mandatory measures this year.

We expect a normal amount of COVID-19, common cold and flu among Congress attendees, with the winter season and people flying from all over the globe of course affecting the incidence. We will be doing our best to protect attendees within the means available to us, but we recommend each attendee to take their own precautions based on their own individual circumstances.

Even if you believe you don't need precautions, you can choose to help protect the greater community by doing so:

We encourage you to test yourself each day, preferably at your accommodation before arriving at the CCH. That way you can help protect others, and make Congress a safer place for everyone.

While masking is not mandatory, we encourage you to wear a mask at your own discretion to help protect the greater community. We also ask that you respect the decision of others to wear or not to wear a mask. You should know that some visitors with hearing disabilities may ask you to remove your mask, so they can read your lips.

Measures taken

Most measures this year are supporting angels and orga crews. There's no self-test desk or public distribution of masks.

For angels

For angels, masks and tests are available in Heaven.

A couple of areas like Heaven, the angel restaurant, and CERT have air purifiers. Air purifiers reduce the odds for airborne infections to spread, but are not a replacement for masks.

Angels interested in eating outside of the angel restaurant should bring their own containers and cutlery, as the plates and cutlery from the restaurant cannot be taken outside.

CO2 metrics

For the general public, the datenzwerg project collects environmental data, including CO2 levels.

CO2 is an indicator of overall ventilation compared to amount of people present, which can be used to estimate risks. CO2 values are less meaningful when there is air filtering.

Other measures you can take

If you really want to minimize your chances of catching airborne viruses, pharmacies in Germany sell over-the-counter nasal sprays based on Iota-Carrageenan under the brand name "Algovir". According to multiple studies it may help prevent and/or treat Influenza and COVID-19. We suggest using this as a complement to masks.

Tips on buying your own masks and tests

If you need to acquire masks and tests whilst in Hamburg, you can do so at any drug store (Drogeriemarkt) or pharmacy (Apotheke). There are several options within 1.5 km of CCH, and there's likely to be some around where you're staying as well. These can be obtained for cheap, often less than 1 euro per mask, and tests for 1–2 euros. Of course, there are many online options as well.

We recommend buying good FFP2 (or FFP3) masks that fit well. Best fit is if there's no air leaking around the nose, chin or cheeks as you exhale. If you have facial hair, you may also want to check that it doesn't interfere with the fit. We recommend buying a few extra masks, in case you need to replace one (if it gets dirty, gets lost, etc).

For tests, we have no specific recommendations. If you want to be extra safe, there are currently various tests commonly available that test not only for COVID-19 but for various diseases (SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A/B, sometimes also RSV).

If you feel like no mask fits you well, you can look at more premium options that you can acquire online (by work safety equipment manufacturers, etc), which often have better comfort and fit.

For the international congressgoers: The generic word for the self-tests in German is "Schnelltest" and COVID-19 is referred to colloquially as "Corona", this may help with shopping around and asking staff. Generally, drug stores are open for longer hours than pharmacies. Almost all stores are closed on Sundays and public holidays, but the ones in train stations (Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Hamburg-Altona) are open on Sundays and often also on holidays, though they may be rather crowded.

Scabies and lice

There have been outbreaks of scabies and lice in other events during 2025. These are significantly less severe infections, but require active effort to not spread further.

Direct physical contact with infected people for prolonged periods of time is likely to lead to infection.

If this sounds relevant, please read the wikipedia articles on scabies and lice.

Both conditions may take up to six weeks to show symptoms.

In case of positive tests or symptoms

If there's a risk of you transmitting an infection to other attendees (e.g. after being tested Covid-positive), we ask you to not attend the event.

If you feel unwell during the event, please contact the CERT.

If you have a medical emergency, the medical emergency number in Germany is 112. Calling 112 on the DECT network will instead connect you to CERT.