Staying healthy at EMF

This page applies to Electromagnetic Field 2024. It may be updated before the event but any commitments made in this policy will not be weakened.

While you're at EMF, our first aid team will be available to assist you if you're injured or ill, or if you just need some suncream - drop by the first aid tent.

Respiratory illness

While outdoor events are some of the lowest-risk places to be in the company of several thousand people, there is still a risk of infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

What we're doing

We aim to reduce the baseline risk of infection in our main event structures to a level where wearing a mask should provide you with a very good level of protection. We're paying particular attention to ventilation, and we will be monitoring CO2 with the aim of keeping levels in these structures below 800 ppm. We will have a supply of FFP2 masks and tests available for free.

We will be monitoring prevalence of COVID in the lead-up to the event, and if it is likely that prevalence is high, we may strengthen this policy.

What you should do

We strongly encourage you to:

  • Take a rapid test (lateral flow test) for COVID-19 the day you leave for EMF
  • Wear masks on public transport and in enclosed spaces on your way to EMF
  • Bring rapid tests with you to take during the event
  • Bring masks, and wear a mask at EMF if you're in a crowded enclosed area, particularly if people are talking or singing

If you test positive for COVID in the days before the event, or if you have flu-like symptoms, please don't attend. We will refund your ticket if you can't attend EMF because you're contagious.

The risk of catching airborne diseases is likely to be higher in smaller village tents, where people are talking and ventilation tends to be less good than our larger structures. We encourage villages to pay attention to ventilation in these tents.

What to do if you're ill at EMF

If you experience symptoms of COVID during the event, please take a rapid COVID test — if you don't have one, the First Aid tent will give you one for free.

A positive rapid test means that you are very likely contagious. If you test positive for COVID or have flu-like symptoms, please wear a mask, take great care to avoid close contact with other attendees, and leave the event as soon as you are able to. Even mild COVID symptoms won't be fun if you're stuck in a tent.

If you have any respiratory symptoms but have tested negative for COVID, please keep testing every day and wear a mask while you're near other people.

Food-borne illness

Outdoor events carry a higher risk of catching food poisoning. We'll provide plenty of places for you to wash your hands, with running water and soap — please wash your hands regularly.

Tick bites

EMF is held in a deer park, which increases the risk of tick bites, especially if you wander off the event site into longer grass.

Tick bites can carry Lyme disease. If you are bitten by a tick, please visit the First Aid tent to have it removed, and be aware of the symptoms of Lyme disease.