The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has announced a partnership with Epistemix, a third-party Covid-19 modelling system for its Annual Event and Expo ‘IFT FIRST’, 10-13 July, at McCormick Place, Chicago, US.
Epistemix assists organisations predict the progression of disease outbreak to help inform Covid-19 policies and safety protocols for events.
Christie Tarantino-Dean, CEO of IFT, said: “As Covid-19 continues to be an evolving situation, IFT is taking various steps to help ensure that the IFT FIRST: Annual Event and Expo is a safe and beneficial experience for all. In partnering with Epistemix, we will be able to leverage their various data sets to make informed decisions regarding our health and safety protocols.”
Epistemix aims to simulate scenarios and probable outcomes related to the expected spread of Covid-19 through July by using the expected number of attendees, the number of exhibitors, the average age of attendees, vaccination coverage of attendees, and the vaccination coverage in Chicago. Results from the research will help IFT determine potential protocols during IFT FIRST, such as face masks, proof of vaccination and Covid testing requirements.
Dr Lindsey Reiser, managing director of professional services at Epistemix, stated: “Working with IFT, our agent-based modelling software tests and forecasts how many cases, if any, could spread from hosting an in-person expo.”
Epistemix claims that it can predict with 95% accuracy the expected Covid-19 case occurrence in a given group of individuals gathered during a specific period of time.
To learn more about IFT and its safety protocols please click here.
