EVE Fanfest 2020 Cancelled

I'm not going to Iceland after all. On Friday, the first case of coronavirus was announced. A few hours later CCP announced the cancellation of Fanfest. I received the following email at 1703 UTC from Eventbright.

In light of the recent and ongoing global developments surrounding the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we have taken the decision to cancel this year’s Fanfest event in Reykjavik, Iceland.

It is with a heavy heart that we make this decision, and we know this news will be disappointing to our wonderful community, but we feel absolutely compelled to follow the most responsible course of action and prioritize the safety and well-being of our attendees, our staff and of course the general Icelandic public.

We realize that the situation a month from now could be very different, but the way events are developing both globally and in Iceland’s neighboring countries, an in-depth and serious review has made it clear that this is a necessary step to take.

We wanted to get this information to you as swiftly as possible in order to allow you to make the necessary changes to any travel or accommodation arrangements that you may have made. The process of refunding the cost of EVE Fanfest 2020 event tickets for attendees has begun.

We will be providing further details over the course of the next few weeks, so pleasekeep an eye on all EVE Online social media channels for these updates.

Fly safe, Capsuleers.

At 2133, I received another email from Eventbright, letting me know my refund was being processed and I should receive the money in my account within 7 business days. I've also applied for a refund from Icelandair.

The caution will probably benefit me in the long run. I'm still under treatment for a sinus and allergy problem that may require surgery later in the year. I do a fair bit of coughing, which in this travel environment is probably not a good thing. I'd probably get swept up into some sort of testing process and miss the trip anyway. Or get stuck in Reykjavik. At this point, 300 people are under quarantine in Iceland, with three confirmed cases. Probably better to sit at home and play video games.