CONVENTION POSTPONES INDY EVENT AMID VIRUS CONCERNS

(photo courtesy of the Indiana Convention Center)

INDIANAPOLIS – A convention set to come to the Indiana Convention Center
later this month has postponed its event in response to COVID-19
developments.

Indiana on Friday announced its first confirmed case of coronavirus.
Governor Eric Holcomb said the infected person is a Marion County resident
who recently traveled to Boston to attend a conference as a contractor. A
second person who attended the conference was also confirmed to have the
virus.

The American Coatings Show and Conference 2020 was set to run from March
31-April 2 at the downtown facility adjacent to Lucas Oil Stadium. The
convention attracts sellers of adhesives, sealants and power coatings.
Organizers said in <american-coatings-show.com/> a news release the
rescheduling was “unavoidable” and they are working to reschedule the show
in the same venue later in 2020. Every two years, about 10,000 people attend
the convention.

Convention Center spokesperson Lisa Vielee said Friday afternoon that no
other events are considering postponements and cancellations at this time.

Debbie Hennessey, director of Indiana Convention Center, told News 8 in
<www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/convention-postpones-event-set-for-d
owntown-indianapolis-amid-virus-concerns/> a story aired Thursday that its
busy season is getting underway “Just here in the convention center in the
next month or so we have got over 100 thousand people that will be coming in
here.”

“We have increased the number of hand sanitizers that we have in the
facility, we have taken to wiping down the handrails on the escalators and
the stairways, increased the shifts for that. We are even cleaning the air
vents and installed hospital-grade air filters in those air vents,”
Hennessey said.

The Convention Center also reported Thursday it is working with some
convention organizers to allow people who cannot come due to travel bans or
fear of contracting the coronavirus to get video access so they can still
get the information.