We called them the “Floridaman” of conventions when they announced the show must go on, but Tampa Bay Comic Con has announced that their 2020 show has been canceled. The rising cases of COVID-19 in the state was a concern to organizers. The convention was to take place July 10-12 at the Tampa Convention Centers.

In their announcement, the convention said that city leaders, as well as themselves, felt unease with the show going forward.

Any pre-purchased tickets or purchased booth space for vendors would have their purchases tranferred to next year’s show, slated for July 30 – August 1.

Conventions have been cautious this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic either delaying shows until later in the year or canceling them outright. Then there’s Tampa Bay Comic Con screaming “Leeroy Jenkins” right into the disease vector that is Florida.

The convention has received a “green light” to go on in July after a confirmation from the Tampa Convention Center and Tampa Fire Marshall. The convention takes place July 10-12.

Meausres for the convention include:

• Mandatory temperature screenings for all occupants prior to entering the convention center
• Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures in high-traffic areas of the convention center
• Hand santizing stations through the pre-function space and high traffic areas
• Interior occupancy of the exhibit hall, ballrooms and meeting rooms will be strictly limited, with one-way entrances and one-way exits of all interior spaces

Florida has made the news numerous times during the current pandemic for its poor response. Recently a scientist said she was fired for refusing to change data to support the state’s reopening plan. The state has had a history of large gatherings that are hot spots for spreading the virus resulting in attendees falling ill and some dying.

Florida currently has 46,944 confirmed cases and 2,052 deaths. That’s 2,463 cases per 1 million individuals, about half of the United State’s current statistic. Hillsborough County, where Tampa Bay is located has 1,670 confirmed cases currently with 60 deaths. That’s about 1,317 cases per 1 million people. There’s also the unknown outbreaks and concern over children and Kawasaki disease which seems to be related to COVID-19 which has been reported in the county the convention takes place.

Florida had been making progress in their battle against the disease but things have stalled and they’ve stopped making progress. There’s also the issue of trusting “positive” data coming out of the state based on the willingness to change data as per the article above. There are reports that the trend of new cases is upward.

We’ll obviously not be attending as we care about our health a bit more than conventions and hopefully, we’re wrong and there’s nothing to report once the convention wraps up.