The convention industry is worth $100 billion. A convention is a mass indoor gathering where people from several different places come together to share the love for one common thing. It could be planes, Italian scooters, 60s fashion, or even dressing up like Lincoln for an entire day. Conventions are about having a sense of belonging, a feeling that has been absent for many since March 2020.
After the reopening of several conventions, a question that comes up is if it is safe enough for conventions to open back up. They fit the bill precisely for what NOT to do during this time: having mass indoor gatherings of people from all sorts of places. With the recent news of a new COVID variant, there’s even more uncertainty drifting in the air, than before. In a recent anime convention in New York City, a man from Minnesota tested positive for the Omicron variant, and 15 other people have also tested positive from the same convention.
Convention attendees were required to have their first vaccine dose and be masked up, but the rules were followed very loosely. People were packed shoulder to shoulder, trying to get a photoshoot together and show off their Nezuko and Kaneki cosplays. While the intent behind going to conventions isn’t evil, it reveals that even the slightest trigger can set off a new wave of panic and suffering. In this case, safety triumphs over anime.
Tarun Kalyanaraman
Staff Writer & Editor
Graphic: Tarun Kalyanaraman