In a precautionary turn of events, ESL has announced that they will be doing health screenings on attendees at IEM Katowice to prevent the further spread of Coronavirus.
The health screening is being conducted as ESL works closely with the local government and health authorities to prevent an outbreak of Coronavirus in Poland, where there have been no reported cases as of yet. The screening will include a temperature check for every attendee at the Spodek arena Friday through Sunday, in which fans with high temperatures may be turned away. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis by dedicated medical personnel, according to HLTV.
All press, players, and special guests that had travel routes through high-risk regions, such as China or South Korea were asked to provide a valid health certificate or attend additional health screenings. ESL says that extra medial staff, first aid, and sanitation stations will be available for guests and that visitors will be educated on hygiene measures.
Coronavirus has already had a massive impact on esports as a whole. The Overwatch League was forced to cancel all homestands in the APAC region through March, with no word on future homestands, or when and where these matches would be made up. This has caused most of the Pacific East division to not have played a single match so far this season.
In League of Legends, the LPL has been postponed indefinitely, with that league turning to broadcast scrims to fill air time and entertain fans. The LCK has also barred audiences from attending matches. The LJL is also being played without spectators due to the virus.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared a global crisis by the World Health Organization. There have been over 80,000 reported cases worldwide, and 2,771 deaths connected with the respiratory disease.
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