After the surge of TwitchCon EU streamers and viewers alike getting ill with Covid and other airborne illnesses like Norovirus at this past TwitchCon, Twitch has a responsibility to protect the health and livelihoods of their congoers. This is a continuing trend of people getting ill & permanently disabled by SARS-Cov-2 at Twitchcon and to prevent this from happening again, and to protect Twitch from being held liable, a new policy needs to be put into place.

Health institutes such as the CDC have confirmed what scientists and immunocompromised folks have been saying for years, that Covid can surge throughout the year (see this: https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/covid-19-can-surge-throughout-the-year.html) and Long Covid has been shown to severely disable people permanently. Conventions such as TwitchCon are harboring this deadly and disabling virus, and Twitch is enabling their streamers and viewers to be disabled and potentially killed as a result. Personal responsibility does not apply to Covid, as we ALL share the air, and Twitchcon has policies about smoking, due to this very reason. The best prevention method for not being disabled by Long Covid is to avoid getting Covid.

As Streamers, going to conventions hosted by Twitch provides opportunities for networking and sponsorships, as well as meeting with our viewers, and is therefore a part of our job. In order to protect the lives and livelihoods of your streamers and viewers, as well as the convention staff, a layered approach to preventing the spread of illness is paramount. Requiring up to date immunizations, clean air initiatives such as installing multiple HEPA filters and frequently testing the quality of the air, as well as masking should be implemented at ALL conventions moving forward in both Europe and North America. TwitchCon EU should NOT be a testing ground to see if Covid will infect your congoers, as this not only puts EU streamers and congoers in an incredibly dangerous position, but waiting to see if Covid surges at TwitchCon EU before requiring masks at Twitchcon NA (ex: TwitchCon San Diego 2022) sends a clear message that Twitch views the lives and safety of TwitchCon EU goers to matter less than those of the ones going to TwitchCon NA.

Twitch needs to adapt to the world, as Covid has been here for 4 years, and has no signs of slowing down. In order to protect their streamers, viewers, staff and themselves, Twitch needs to implement strategies to protect the people attending their convention, otherwise there will be no people healthy enough to do so in the coming years. Twitchcon 2022 was an excellent example of how Twitch can continue to move forward, and by requiring masks to attend this convention, the amount of infections was reduced drastically. It also sent a message to the disabled and immunocompromised streamers and viewers that had found a home and income on Twitch in the beginning of the pandemic, that we were welcome and Twitch would attempt to do their part in protecting us and the nondisabled members of the Twitch community. Remember: the only thing separating a nondisabled person and a disabled person, is luck and time. Covid-19 has been proven to cause immune system suppression (see this peer reviewed scientific study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19706-9) which means more people are now susceptible to long term disability and death than they thought, as once healthy individuals are now immunocompromised.

To prevent Twitch from being held liable for the damages caused by acquiring Covid-19 at their conventions, and to protect all convention goers from permanent illness and disability, Twitch needs to update their mask, clean air and immunization policy at ALL conventions moving forward.

There is currently a uservoice to require masks at this upcoming convention in San Diego, that as of making this post has just over 940 votes. In hopes that Twitch will listen to their users and add a mask requirement at that convention, I shall hold off on making this post in the TwitchCon NA section. Please go vote for that one now, as it is gaining interest, but the last uservoice of this nature got 4,268 votes before Twitch agreed to protect the health and safety of the convention goers in 2022 at the San Diego con, so we need more. Until Twitch either listens to their userbase on that uservoice, or the 2024 NA TwitchCon passes (whichever comes first) this will stay in just the TwitchCon EU section. Please share with your communities, stream teams, and friends and remember - we all share the air, and we keep us safe.