MGMoutlines conference safety protocols

LAS VEGAS — Casino giant MGM Resorts International is teaming with a firm that provided COVID-19 screenings for the National Hockey League playoffs and a health care provider to high-volume events in an optional conference attendee safety plan at its U.S. hotels and casinos, the company announced this week.

A system dubbed “Convene with Confidence” could help conventions and meetings resume, using technology and expert advice collected since the coronavirus pandemic began, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle said.

“With this program, we are taking another step forward in safely providing a level of entertainment, amenities and service,” he said in a statement.

Almost all 29 MGM Resorts properties aroundthe country have idle conference space and empty convention schedules due to crowd size limits. Event scheduling will depend on local regulations and mandates. Nevada currently limits gatherings to 50 people.

The statement outlines steps including pre-event planning, digital registration, physical distancing, cleaning and disinfection protocols, along with a variety ofmeal and break services.

Hornbuckle said protocols for conference attendees will add to company safety plans already including employee temperature screenings, mandatory mask-wearing, clear plastic barriers where 6-foot distancing is difficult and electrostatic spraying to prevent the spread of virus.

The optional additional process will be multi-layered, based on a red-light, green-light CLEAR Health Pass system and on-site rapid molecular COVID-19 tests using nasal swabs that can deliver results within about 20 minutes. Fees for the screening and monitoring process will vary according to the size of the group served, the company said.

ImpactHealth, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, plans to provide MGM Resorts with rapid portable point-of-care COVID-19 tests.

New York-based CLEAR, which got its start helping people speed through airport checkpoints, will provide amobile app for event attendees to verify their identity, answer a short health survey and set up an account around the results of their COVID-19 test.

At the event, attendees will step to an electronic kiosk for a temperature check and to scan a computer code from their app.

The system will signal green to allow entry or red to stop the person and begin a coronavirus response protocol that can include further testing, referral to care and consultation with health authorities.

Officials say personal health information remains confidential, and that MGM Resorts only receives the green or red signal.