The Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) held in Paris on March 3-5 turned out to be a hot spot for COVID-19 transmission. Eighteen of a supposed one thousand attendees have now tested positive, with many more results pending.
18 Ethereum Event Attendees Now Infected
The exact number in attendance is unknown, although approximately one thousand had registered for the event. Since the news broke yesterday, a further 2 attendees have since tested positive for the coronavirus.
Since this story published yesterday, two other @ethcc_ attendees have tested positive for #COVID19 , @BriannaPageM and Boris Pretrov, bringing the total to 18 https://t.co/2O5SsvoOCS
— Amy Castor (@ahcastor) March 17, 2020
The link provided opens an interactive chart listing the test status of fifty attendees, revealing eighteen positive results so far, with several more pending. It also tracks the conference activities of the guests as well, which may reveal more insight into who may have come in contact with an infected individual.
It is worth noting, however, that this chart is based on self-reporting, and thus likely does not reflect the full extent of the virus’ transmission.
Paris, along with other major European cities, is now on a major lockdown, with all large gatherings canceled. All persons present at the conference are now expected to self-isolate, along with all others that have likely come in contact with the Coronavirus.
IS VITALIK BUTERIN SAFE?
The well-being of everyone present at EthCC is a concern, yet there can be no question that all eyes are on Vitalik’s test status. Buterin attended the conference, but 3 days ago tweeted that he has no symptoms:
Confirm I have no symptoms. Will report if things change.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) March 14, 2020
The chart has his test results listed as “unknown” yet also lists him as “recovering.” It is reasonable to assume that he would make good on his promise to inform the public if he were to contract the virus, but we can never know for sure.
Vitalik’s status notwithstanding, many key figures within the Ethereum community were present at EthCC. Others have no doubt recently attended other large crypto-oriented gatherings. Whereas there has been no indication that Ethereum development has been affected by COVID-19, there is reason to follow this issue moving forward.
In terms of the impact COVID-19 will have on general crypto development, as of now no major platform has announced a disruption. There is little doubt that the virus will have such an impact before this global ordeal has passed, yet it remains too early to determine how severe it will be.
Fortunately, the decentralized nature of the blockchain space enables team members to work remotely. Simply put, home isolation will not be much of a problem should workers remain healthy. However, now is certainly a good time for all crypto projects with large teams to establish protocols for dealing with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Do you think more attendees will test positive for the COVID-19 virus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @DeFi_Dad @ahcastor
