Going to WWDC? Don’t bring COVID with you, Apple says

It may be wise to take precautions

In a strong hint that COVID-19 isn’t over yet, Apple has told the small number of developers travelling to California to take part in the forthcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) they’ll have to take care.

Slow down, take stock, stay safe

The news comes just days since Apple slowed down its return to work strategy at its corporate offices, citing increasing infection rates.

Developers invited to join Apple’s exclusive one-day event at Apple Park have been informed of a new set of stricter COVID-19-prevention rules. Apple did already have some protections in place, but these have now been enhanced as the company, quite rightly, wants to keep its biggest developer champions healthy.

Apple is saying they will need to wear N95 masks while indoors and that they will also need to provide a negative FDA-approved COVID antigen test that they must take no earlier than one day before the event. Results will need to be uploaded to an Apple portal before they get to Apple Park.

This could be Apple suffering a surfeit of caution, except it isn’t.

Apple’s WWDC image seems to have its eye on Swift.

Apple, the bellweather

Apple’s international network of retail stores means it has boots on the ground in almost every nation, which means its own internal data gives it a far clearer insight into the state of COVID infection rates than many governments choose to provide.

At one point during the first year of the pandemic, concerned consumers would check the status of local Apple retail stores as an early warning of high infection rates. If Apple closed a store, it was reasonable to avoid human contact as this suggested high risk.

That Apple is choosing to both run WWDC as an online show and slow down its return-to-work plans, at the same time as insisting on stronger than originally required precautions for those few people attending the event speaks volumes.

It strongly suggests we should continue washing our hands for some time yet – particularly as summer passes along to fall.

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