COVID-19 Policy

The 2023 Annual Meeting (2023AM) and Seismic Design Competition (SDC) organizers, EERI staff, and volunteers are all working hard to make the 2023AM and SDC an effective and enjoyable in-person event while prioritizing your safety. We deeply appreciate your help in ensuring a safe and productive meeting. We are looking forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

2023AM COVID-19 Policy

EERI is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all participants at the 2023AM and SDC. Our decisions and preventive measures are guided by the requirements and recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and federal, state, and local health authorities.

The responsibility for ensuring a safe and healthy event environment is shared among EERI, the event venue, and meeting attendees. Towards this end, all attendees and their guests are expected to comply with all applicable requirements imposed by federal, state, or local health authorities in San Francisco, California, and are expected to adhere to and abide by the safety precautions EERI has implemented to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

At this time, the CDC has determined the community levels for COVID-19 in San Francisco County are low. Therefore, in order to attend the 2023AM, attendees:

  • Must be COVID-19 symptom-free1 and not under isolation guidance;2 
  • May wear a mask at any time if they choose to do so.
  • Must wear a mask if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 within ten days of attending the event.

Individuals should not attend the meeting if they:

  • are experiencing, or within the 10 days prior, have experienced signs and symptoms of COVID-19 ((if you are unsure your symptoms are COVID-19, rather than the flu or a cold, consider getting tested for COVID-19);
  • have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are not yet cleared as non-contagious by the healthcare team responsible for treatment.

The following preventative safety precautions will apply at the 2023AM:

  1. If attendees choose to wear a mask, they must provide their own. A small number of masks will be made available at the registration area for those whose personal mask is damaged or lost.

  2. EERI recommends that attendees wash or sanitize their hands frequently, and minimize face touching.


Should positive cases of COVID-19 be reported by meeting attendees to EERI within ten days of the conclusion of the conference, EERI will communicate this information to all registered participants. Private health or personal data received by EERI will be treated as confidential. If required, EERI will notify the appropriate public health agencies.

EERI reserves the right to modify these policies at any time at our discretion. A notification will be sent to all registered attendees and posted on the meeting website should changes be made.

1. Per the CDC, common symptoms of a COVID-19 infection may include: Fever or chills; Cough; Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; Fatigue; Muscle or body aches; Headache; New loss of taste or smell; Sore throat; Congestion or runny nose; Nausea or vomiting; Diarrhea. This list is not all possible symptoms.  
2. As used herein, “isolation” means have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the past 10 days OR have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 in the past 10 days.