​Planning a Private Event During a Global Pandemic

​Planning a private event during a global pandemic can prove challenging but not impossible.  With a little guidance from the CDC, our astute planner, and our private event venue in Lafayette, Louisiana, you can still pull off an impressive soiree, be it a little scaled back.  

While the CDC does not impose a specific limit on the number of attendees of events, they encourage event organizers to focus on methods to limit individuals' contact with others.   Event planners and organizers need to determine the suitable number of guests for their venue size in collaboration with Louisiana Health Department recommendations.  Parish and city rules may differ from state restrictions depending on current infection rates in the area.  Your private event venue in Lafayette, Louisiana will be aware of current and expected limits. 

As a rule, the permissible number of guests allows individuals to keep at least 6 feet apart from each other.  Rather than focusing on a model number, event venues and organizers should concentrate on the venues ability to limit contact between staff, attendees, and other vendors.  The model indicates the more individuals you interact with, the closer you interact with them, and the longer the interaction, the higher the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19.  Indoor venues are more precarious than outdoor venues due to ventilation and spatial restrictions. 

The CDC also offers recommendations and strategies for maintaining 6 feet distance; for instance, planners can:

Limit attendees and seating capacity to allow for social distancing based on venue square footage, or host events appropriate for smaller rooms in larger rooms.
Section off rows of seating to space guests 6 feet apart.
Utilize various entrances and exits to discourage congested waiting areas.
Eliminate participation in lines or queues, such as buffets or bars, when possible, and encouraging guests to remain apart by providing signs or additional visual cues, i.e., tape or chalk marks. Other physical guides include floor and wall placards, 6 feet round tables, and directions for creating one-way paths.

Select outdoor event venues, where social distancing is easier to maintain, as often as possible.
Offer digital attendance options in addition to physical attendance to reduce the number of guests.
Consider restricting the number of guests who occupy the lavatory to allow for social distancing.
Do not permit lines to form near the lavatories.  Take unique actions to ensure that individuals maintain 6 feet apart from others.

The CDC does not recommend requiring a negative COVID test of guests and staff before allowing them to enter a venue. Testing such as this has not been systematically studied. It is unknown if this type of testing provides an additional reduction in transmission of COVID-19 above other preventive measures (such as cleaning and disinfecting frequently, social distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, and handwashing).

The CDC does however, recommend health checks such as temperature screening and symptom checking of guests, staff, and vendors respectfully and safely in accordance with privacy laws and regulations.

The CDC urges guests. others to wear masks in community settings and when in the presence of others who don't live in their household, especially when social distancing measures are difficult to enforce.  Event organizers should also require staff to wear masks and encourage guests to bring and wear masks in advance of the event.  While masks offer some protection to the wearer, masks are intended to protect those around the wearer in case one or the other is unwittingly infected.

Masks are enthusiastically encouraged in settings where guests might raise their voices to be heard Advise enforcement staff that masks should not be mandated on:

• Children under the age of 2 years old
• Those with trouble breathing
• Someone incapacitated, unconscious, or otherwise incapable of removing a mask without assistance

In general, guests and staff should be encouraged to take routine preventive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Measures include:

• Washing hands often or using hand sanitizer when washing is unavailable.
• Avoid close contact with the sick and those outside of your immediate household.  
• Encourage guest to stay home if unwell or know to be sick.
• Covering sneezes and coughs with the inside of their elbow or a tissue.
• Disinfect and clean communal surfaces.

Strategies to maintain healthy environments, include the following:

CLEANING AND DISINFECTING:

• Commonly touched surfaces at the venue daily and in between uses as frequently as possible (door and sink handles, support bars, hand railings, and frequently touched vertical surfaces).
• Disinfect, clean or replace shared objects between uses (countertops, tables, bars, payment terminals, and condiment holders).  Consider shutting off areas like drinking fountains where adequately cleaned and disinfected cannot be maintained during an event.
• Use disposable gloves when handling garbage, used plates, glasses and cutlery.  After use, throw disposable gloves out in a lined trash can.  Do not try to disinfect or reuse the gloves.  Wash hands following the removal of gloves.
• Consider serving pre-plated meals and pre-poured drinks, or provide seated dining where meals are served to your guests.  

If you are struggling to find a private event venue in Lafayette, La to accommodate your soiree while protecting your guests, call Le Pavillon at Parc Lafayette to schedule a tour.   Hannah will guide you through the meticulous protocols she and her team undertake to ensure the safety and health of ours and your guests.  

TAGS:

planning a private event during a global pandemic, private event venues in lafayette la, private event spaces in lafayette la