COVID-19

This page will contain all updates, from newest to oldest, about our work and plans for Northwest Model United Nations - Seattle (NWMUN-Seattle) with relation to COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, also known as "novel coronavirus"). This page will also have some general information on the disease as it relates to our planning; we encourage all readers to seek out other sources of information on the disease broadly. If you have any questions, please contact the Secretary-General. 

Resources:

Steps to Prevent Illness (CDC)

Handwashing Guidelines (WHO)

Centers for Disease Control Resources on COVID-19

Washington Department of Health: Novel Coronavirus Outbreak 2019

City of Seattle Resources on COVID-19

September 27, 2020

NWMUN-Seattle 2020 will be held entirely over the Gatherly platform. We will announce how registration may change to allow us enough information to make accounts for everyone who signs up in the coming weeks. We have also voted to reduce the price of the conference (for 2020 only) from $60/delegate to $30/delegate, and will invoice accordingly. Finally, we have adjusted our committee list to include the GA, UNEA, ECOSOC, CSW, SC, and RSC.

August 16, 2020

The NWA Board of Directors has said consistently that "health and safety are paramount concerns." Today, we determined that there is no way to protect the health and safety of attendees of an in-person conference in November in Seattle. As a result, the NWA Board voted to make NWMUN-Seattle 2020 an entirely virtual conference. We will be determining, and announcing, other changes (including our web platform, fee changes, etc.) as soon as possible. However, we wanted to start out by letting everyone know that delegates and staff will all be participating online.

Our refund policy from June 11 remains in effect (see below).

June 23, 2020

Facing an uptick in cases in two Washington counties (one of which is adjacent to Seattle's King County), Washington Governor Jay Inslee has implemented a mandatory face-mask rule for those outside their houses, statewide, beginning June 26. While most of our preparations for the conference are taking place virtually at home, all organizational and conference staff will be in full compliance with the mandatory face-mask rule for any NWMUN-related activity involving travel outside the home. Other than this, all preparations for the conference continue as normal.

June 19, 2020

King County (where Seattle is located) has officially been moved to Phase 2 of the four-phase reopening plan announced by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. As previously indicated, moving to Phase 4 is required for legally holding an event the size we expect NWMUN-Seattle 2020 to be. We also are evaluating numerous non-legal factors in addition to legality. Having said that, at present all preparations for the conference continue as normal.

June 11, 2020

NWMUN-Seattle is announcing a new and unique refund policy for the 2020 conference as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our intention with this refund policy is to allow attendees to register with peace of mind.

• In the event the conference needs to be canceled (which at present is not planned or even likely, but may occur due to legal requirements, venue closures, or an organizational assessment of the safety and health of our attendees and volunteers), all payments made to NWMUN-Seattle 2020 will be refunded in full.

• In the event the conference needs to be rescheduled (which at present is not planned or even likely, but may occur due to legal requirements, venue closures, or an organizational assessment of the safety and health of our attendees and volunteers), all schools will be offered the option of maintaining their registration for the new dates, or receiving a full refund.

• In the event an attending school has a municipal, county, state, provincial, or national regulation or order not to attend events, their payments will be refunded in full.

• In the event that NWMUN-Seattle 2020 reduces fees for any reason after an attending school has paid, the excess payments made will be refunded in full to reduce that school's total fees paid to their lowest possible rates.

June 10, 2020

COVID-19 has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. It has also been declared by the World Health Organization to be a pandemic. Domestically, President Trump has also declared a national emergency.

Washington (along with other states) had issued a "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order on March 24. On May 4, Washington Governor Inslee announced the "Safe Start" plan to reopen Washington State gradually, with counties individually progressing through a series of four phases in which additional types of businesses and services (including events) could begin, with increasing sizes per phase. The plan allows events to resume at sizes accommodating the expected size of NWMUN-Seattle 2020 in the fourth and final phase, which is projected to begin in the state by the end of the summer. At present, state public health guidance still indicates that staying home is the healthiest choice.

While at present, King County (where Seattle is located) has not progressed beyond a modified version of Phase 1 (aka Phase 1.5), the City of Seattle is offering free COVID-19 testing to anyone who lives, works, or regularly visits Seattle with the intent of assisting in detecting new cases and treating them as well as meeting state standards on testing to help the county reopen.

NWMUN-Seattle 2020 is our fourteenth year, and given the systems we have in place and the staff we have return every year, we have the capacity to explore the changes we must make in light of COVID-19 and its effects on the conference. As a result, we have no plans at present to cancel the conference, but are exploring ways to ensure we can conduct a conference that ensures health and safety are paramount concerns. However, we will be assessing the legal and health implications of our event on a regular basis and posting updates to this page as to any potential alterations to the conference plans as they arise. We will only run a conference that is respectful of the health and safety of all involved.