Coronavirus is stopping the conference and exhibition industry in its tracks. In the household and personal products industry, well-established events, including Makeup In/Luxe Pack Shanghai and PCHi Shanghai and Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, have been postponed. Now, the beauty industry is watching to see if Reed Exhibitions will postpone In-Cosmetics Global, which is scheduled to take place in Barcelona next month. Earlier this week, Reed said the show will go on, but the status could change on a dime. Today, Switzerland banned all large-scale events over 1,000 people.
 
Travel isn’t so up in the air here in the US. For example, next week, Happi heads to Orlando for Podfest Multimedia Expo 2020—yes, there is such a thing. The event’s goal is to elevate the podcasting community via education, inspiration and ideas, and community and networking. Which is to say, it’s like every other conference and tradeshow in the world.
 
This year's edition of Podfest should be different. Thanks to COVID-19, an ominous synonym for coronavirus, Podfest organizers are flooding our inbox with health and safety tips while attending the show—and it’s all good news for wipes and sanitizer suppliers and marketers. For example, the host hotel will provide hand sanitizer stations all around the convention area. In addition, the Podfest team will have plenty of hand sanitizer wipes on-hand for attendees, though organizers recommend bringing your own supply. And instead of shaking hands, they suggest a fist bump and remind everyone to thoroughly their hands before touching their faces. Organizers even include a link to Centers of Disease Control recommendations.
 
But if all these safety measures fail to sway the germophobes, registrants will be able to access the presentations online. Which got us thinking, why not just podcast the whole damn thing in the first place?