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“In these challenging times, we are more aware than ever of your safety as well as that of our staff and the many visitors of Interclean. In view hereof, we have been closely monitoring the situation around the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which has surfaced in many countries around the world including The Netherlands. In view of the fact that the situation is changing on a daily basis, we plan to make a final decision about the current schedule for Interclean Amsterdam 2020 on or before 20 March. We will consider in our final decision whether the health and wellbeing of visitors and exhibitors is sufficiently safeguarded at Interclean Amsterdam in May.
RAI Amsterdam is in constant contact with the relevant authorities and important partners, such as the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the Municipal Health Services (GGD), the City of Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport and KLM. Together we have drawn up protocols and established precautions aimed at avoiding unnecessary risk. Our priority is always the safeguarding health and safety or our visitors, exhibitors and personnel.
We are ready to demonstrate that we will do our part to overcome the current situation. Clear guidance is given on health measures before, during, and after events take place. In addition to the authorities and partners listed above, we are in contact with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Clean Hospitals Group to monitor and act on new developments.
With Interclean, RAI Amsterdam is strongly committed to playing its role as a meeting place for hygiene professionals and in building bridges for successful cooperation and expertise across the industry. This is even more important as organisations worldwide are looking to build consensus on how to tackle outbreaks like coronavirus. Recently, the Clean Hospitals Group (headed by Professor Didier Pittet) met in Amsterdam. While concerned about coronavirus, the team called for a realistic approach to the outbreak, taking into account signs that China is beginning to overcome the situation.
The Mayor of Amsterdam noted on 4 March that, although the situation is still unpredictable, there was no need to cancel events.
The recent Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) event at the RAI Amsterdam shows how exhibitions can go ahead safely with the proper hygiene procedures in place to keep attendees safe Since mid-January, we have had precautionary measures in place at our venue and during events.
In the interest of public health and to prevent any contamination and spreading of the coronavirus, we insist that all stakeholders respect the RIVM and GGD hygiene regulation guidelines when at the RAI venue.
These include:
- washing hands regularly with soap and/or hand disinfectants
- coughing and sneezing in paper tissues or the inside of one's elbow
- avoiding contact with people with respiratory symptoms (cough, cold, etc.) - greeting each other with hand gestures and/or words ensuring good ventilation of the venue
- the use of mouth masks is only recommended for medical personnel in the Netherlands.
To counter the spread of coronavirus, the following precautionary measures are taken during events at RAI Amsterdam:
0- hand disinfectants are made available at all entrances and in public spaces
- first aid personnel have been instructed to recognize the symptoms of the virus and know how to manage possible cases of illness; they also walk around on the floor additional first aid positions are opened during events, including one isolated post to prevent any spread of the virus cleaning is especially thorough there is more focus on following hygiene regulations.
As an extra precaution and in line with measures taken in Germany, we will tighten our precautionary measures at our upcoming international events:
- Visitors and exhibitors are only allowed access to the venue after giving a written mandatory health declaration and a negative fever measurement (38 Celsius and higher) at the entrance.
- Fever measurements will take place each time before entering the venue. In case of positive measurement access will be denied.
- An onsite COVID-19 helpdesk will be in place with medical specialist to answer questions. This helpdesk is in close contact with our first aid personnel.
As things stand, Interclean Amsterdam 2020 will go ahead as planned at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre from 12-15 May 2020. A final decision on this will be made by 20 March, at which time we will communicate any changes. Precautions and measures for all on-site attendees and personnel that are in place at RAI Amsterdam can be found here: www.rai.nl/en/rai-amsterdam/news-article/update-coronavirus”
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