This page was last updated 15 February 2023. 

Wearing a mask is an utterly rational decision for a variety of reasons, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. See here for current information on confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. 

It may not be common practice for everyone,  but wearing a mask has become an important part of daily routine for many of us. Respecting the decision to wear a mask fosters a safe and inclusive environment for all.

Our rationale for strongly supporting attendees to wear face masks

As we were exploring our COVID-safe protocols for our events, our total focus was: how can we deliver an extraordinary experience, safely?

First: ventilation. We are working with ActivePure to bring in custom air purifiers for every room in the venue, including restrooms.

Second: stay-at-home guidelines. We request that any attendee who is unwell in any way to stay home.

Third: vaccination. Because of New Zealand’s high vaccination rates, we are not checking vaccination passes, but we absolutely factor this into the overall safety of our events.

And the fourth thing we must look at is mask use.

The evidence is clear that face masks, combined with other protective measures, can help slow the spread of the virus. The higher quality the face mask, the better the protection.

Face masks have some protective ability for the wearer, but even more protective ability for those around the wearer — which means the more of us who wear them, the safer the overall event will be.

When we wear face masks, we’re considering not just our own level of comfort, but also the fact that there are many people around us with invisible disabilities, or who may have vulnerable people at home. Wearing a face mask is an act of community.

We truly appreciate our attendees, speakers, suppliers and team for supporting us to deliver safe and world-class events for everyone.

Noho ora mai / stay well,

The Boma team