ESL to implement health measures for IEM Katowice playoff audience

ESL updated its health and security guidelines today for the IEM Katowice playoffs, which will kick off on Friday, Feb. 28 at the Spodek Arena.

Although ESL didn’t provide the exact reason for the changes, it’s likely due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, which has already infected over 80,000 people and killed 2,700 around the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the respiratory infection a global health emergency on Jan. 30.

ESL has worked in cooperation with the local government and health authorities to add precautions for everyone attending the playoffs. “As part of the precautions, we have added health screening for all attendees, including temperature checks at entryways, additional medical professionals onsite, and additional sanitization stations onsite,” ESL said.

The medical staff will do a simple temperature check for everyone who enters the Spodek Arena and a quick interview at a checkpoint if it’s necessary. Players, press, and guests have reported already been taken care of.

“We’ve ensured that players, press and special guests coming from high-risk areas hold a valid health certificate or were requested to attend additional health screenings,” ESL said.

ESL acted quickly to try to make Katowice safer. Measures such as offering additional hygiene stations play a big part in avoiding contamination. At time of writing, it’s unclear if ESL will expand these precautions to the other tournaments that the company organizes.