SIA Director Dismisses Coronavirus, Don't Cancel ISC West
By John Honovich, Published Mar 03, 2020, 02:02pm ESTSIA Director and ISS executive Janet Fenner has come out criticizing the lack of education and the 'mainstream media', arguing against canceling ISC West.
Fenner posted on LinkedIn arguing against canceling comparing coronavirus to the flu:
In a subsequent post, Fenner shared a more than a month old post about why the flu is a bigger threat than Coronavirus.
Fenner responded to IPVM's request for clarification, emphasizing that 'the flu still poses a bigger threat' than coronavirus:
this is a serious matter and I don't envy the heads of corporations that need to make decisions based on the safety of their employees or based on the liability that they face regarding travel. Even our own CEO is contemplating not attending. My post was focused on trying to place this into context and stop a bit of the hysteria that we do as human beings. The reality that the flu still poses a bigger threat is real.
Vote / Poll
Coronavirus Far More Dangerous Than The Flu
While the flu today kills more people than coronavirus, the issue is that this can change extremely quickly, in just weeks, far faster than people like Fenner appreciate, because, unlike the flu, there is:
- No vaccine for coronavirus
- No anti-viral medication for coronavirus
- No herd immunity for coronavirus
- No experience testing or treating coronavirus in the US
- Long periods where the virus is undetected but can be passed on to others (think ISC West show floor)
"Going Viral" Expression
Most everyone is aware of the expression "going viral" and it is used frequently in technology and for videos (see this list for examples). These are things that one day have little to no views or usage and then in a week or a month explode to tens or hundreds of millions.
Literal Viruses "Going Viral"
Viruses like coronavirus are literally the origin of the term "going viral".
For example, take this projection from a Harvard graduate in chemistry and physics who ran growth for Uber and Facebook, two of the fastest-growing, viral companies of the past decade:
Why am I so concerned? It all boils down to two simple numbers: the reproduction number (R0) and the case fatality rate (CFR). For the flu, R0 is 1.3 and CFR is 0.1%. For 2019-nCoV, experts currently estimate R0 to be ~2.6 (2x the flu) and CFR to be ~1.5% (15x the flu). If we are not able to reduce these numbers quickly and drastically, 2019-nCoV could become a pandemic that infects over 1 billion people and results in over 10 million deaths.
Or this from a well thought out coronavirus podcast with Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch in which he "predicts that between 40 to 70 percent of adults in the world will become infected with the coronavirus."
The risk of viruses is that they literally go viral. That's why so many scientists, public health officials, governments, etc. are so adamant about taking steps to reduce the virality of the virus.
The Banquet
Perhaps the most infamous story from the Wuhan coronavirus origin is that Wuhan threw the world's largest-ever banquet of 40,000 people while local officials were suppressing and downplaying the seriousness of coronavirus:
This, of course, resulted in mass infections and deaths.
SIA / ISC West Be Careful
Underestimate a virus at your own peril.
The upside is money for SIA and Reed but is it worth the risk of becoming the next Wuhan banquet?
Update March 19, 2019
Janet Fenner has left ISS, posting:
5 reports cite this report:
Comments (160)
Show update now: Stanley Security has decided not to exhibit, according to multiple sources close to the company.
By square footage, Stanley is the largest exhibitor to do so.
From privately talking to many large manufacturers, they are seriously monitoring the situation and considering not attending. How many actually decide not to and forefeit the hundreds of thousands they already paid, remains to be seen.
Hi,
A complete explanation, in Spanish, there must be others in English.
¿Cómo se compara el coronavirus con la gripe? Los números dicen que es peor | Ciencia | EL PAÍS
Bye
Typical response from the old guard in the industry. "Why? Because we've always done it this way!"
It's funny to me how the folks who are most vocal about downplaying this threat tend to have a lot of money tied up in the game - for example, the investment community has tried hard to spin this as not a big deal - and yet the markets are not interpreting this rose-colored view quite the same.
Definitely related:
Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi looked visibly feverish as he spoke on state television Monday, downplaying the spread of the new coronavirus in Iran. Without a face mask on, wiping sweat off his forehead and speaking to local press, he coughed into a tissue several times. One day later, he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Head in the sand, always a good strategy....
NOT
Wow, once highly respected, now I have none to her for her dinosaur mentality. Or was it money above everything else mentality.
The tone and overall content of her assertion is a mistake. Just ask Hanwha. Hanwha Removes ISC West Coronavirus Waiver
Granted they are in a difficult position, long term thinking should prevail.
I changed the opening line from "criticizing the uneducated" to "criticizing the lack of education".
Fenner objected, responding:
'“criticizing the uneducated” – that is not correct. I did not call anyone uneducated.
Fenner's original line:
Educate yourself. The mainstream media shouldn't be your only source of information.
I view 'educate yourself' as an admonishment, though a particularly odd one when the education desired is that flu poses a bigger threat than coronavirus.
Just saw on Linkedin Airship Industries is pulling out of ISC.
All very good points in the article and its rather indisputable that COVID-19 is more deadly than the flu. While it's repeatedly stated that the CFR is between 1.5% and 2.0%, I still struggle how we've had 3131 deaths (reported as of this morning) against 92,000 cases. That would point to a mortality rate of 3.4% would it not?
Either way, to compare it to the flu is not accurate. Yes, the flu has killed far more people. However, when people have the flu it is easy to spot and diagnose, hence, the lower mortality rate. But, if someone has COVID-19 they don't even know they have the virus for up to 14 days during which time they can infect a lot more people. To me, this is the scary unknown of this virus.
Also, as US students and families begin to travel for Spring Break I wouldn't be surprised if our cases spike from the end of March to the begining of May. And, for those that claim that the virus will begin to die off as the temperature warms, I point to Singapore which has an extremely tropical climate yet has more cases than the US as of today.
The point being is that this virus is a true unknown. We try to contain it and then there are pockets of outbreaks. Governments around the world are closing schools for two months at a time and are even banning large indoor events. Perhaps this is irrational and time will tell, but I would rather be safe than sorry.
The 'Practice good hygiene' admonishment insults 90,000+ people as victims of their own poor hygiene?
'If you had only washed your hands, you dirty people!'
Can someone explain "The mainstream media shouldn't be your only source of information" comment, please ?
How does citing an opinion from a writer "specializing in political commentary and world affairs...for the Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal for four years." qualify as "educate yourself" in this case ?
looking on the bright side, the Booth Babe/Attendee ratio may be at an all time high...
How can someone working in the security industry be as unconcered about something that could be a severe global security incident? (Deaths, supply chain disruptions, civil unrest, etc)
Quick question, does Reed or SIA stand to actually lose revenue here? Aren’t the booths prepaid? Are there attendance based revenues that I wouldn’t know about?
Worth noting - Reed Expo has a general statement out today that firmly declares all of their shows will go on and no federal restrictions are blocking them:
Please note that our events in the United States are taking place as scheduled and our status with regard to the COVID19 virus remains unchanged: the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors and staff is our number one priority. Currently, no federal restrictions are in place to prevent conferences, conventions, trade shows, exhibitions and travel within the United States
The way I interpret that is Reed is committed to holding every event, regardless of the risk and concern attendees and exhibitors have unless federal restrictions block them.
Amazon has a case.
They will most likely not attend I bet.
We (USA) are at the point where China was in Dec/Jan, yet we still allow mass gatherings even though the CDC can't ascertain with any degree of certainty the transference methodology of COVID-19 and it's new mutations.
Let's just do a giant pot luck at ISC like they did in Wuhan (40K Families) and see what happens in late March and early April.
Who is pulling the strings at the CDC to let mass gatherings continue unabated knowing the history of this soon to be "officially" classified pandemic?
I get the economics hit, but the CDC has ability to minimize, if not mitigate what will surly be a disaster for us like it is proven over and over all over the World to date.
We are attending but taking a wait and see approach. We will not have any of our international employees attend the show. Lastly, we are going to have 1/2 of our sales team work our booth. My biggest question to Reed is how can they say there is not drop in attendance? We have polled some of our End User customers (who are registered for free) and most have said they aren't coming. How are they determining their figures? Hotel room cancellations? If so, I'm going to be adding a dozen of those today.
The original post from Janet was representative of an unpopular viewpoint...according to the responses shown here. Or, is it just that most people are not willing to stand up and say what they think in fear of the public lambasting?
In my one-on-one conversations, I find most people are not highly concerned for their own health. They are healthy and they may get sick. But, they will survive. That is not to discount the horribly negative overall health and economic effect of a disease like this. We SHOULD take precautions.
”Disclaimer: I am not a Doctor. I have never even played one on TV. And, I don’t stay in Holiday Inn Express hotels.”
I am just curious, John. Are you still planning to attend? Or, are any from your group attending?
Well, the WHO just weighed in, declaring it more dangerous than the flu.
All publicity is good publicity.
Outside of our (relatively small) industry no one has ever heard of ISC West, but if it becomes ground zero of the US outbreak - similar to the banquet in Wuhan - then EVERYONE will have heard of ISC West and attendance may soar at future shows. Maybe that is Reed's diabolical plan and why they won't consider canceling.
The hit Reed Exhibitions (division of RELX) would take in a cancellation of ISC West is negligible based on their market cap. SIA would suffer substantially and may not recover.
Note the "30 countries" and "more than 7 million" attendees annually. Wonder how many shows Reed is hosting that have been cancelled to date?
I also find it amazingly irresponsible that RELX holdings has all the answers in their portfolio of divisions: Medical, Risk and Legal.
I would say the latter is doing the talking right now.
I just got a phone call from a very large vendor at ISC West polling people to see if it is worth it for them to attend. He mentioned two other very large names in the industry doing the same thing. It will be interesting to see what happens if these 3 pull out.
Reed will cancel their London shows and reschedule others around the world, but the US must be a 3rd world country as the show goes on.
The London Book Fair has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The fair, which usually draws more than 25,000 writers, agents and publishers to one of the international publishing industry's biggest gatherings, had been due to take place at London's Olympia conference venue March 10-12.
Organizer Reed Exhibitions said Wednesday that it had decided "with reluctance" to cancel the event.
The decision came after several major publishers, including HarperCollins and Penguin Random House, pulled out of the fair because of the disease, citing the risk to staff.
Also Wednesday, organizers announced that Asia's biggest casino industry trade show has been postponed because of the virus.
Global Gaming Expo Asia, originally scheduled to be held on May 19-21 in Macao, will be held at the end of July.
More than 13,000 people attended last year's expo, jointly organized by the American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions.
The Latest: New York reports 6 virus cases, including family - StarTribune.com
If you peruse the language on all of Reed's shows at it relates to the corona virus, it seems, regardless of the letterhead, similar in body and context (authored by the same?).
OK, I'm done spending time on this. I'll see everyone at the show unless it's cancelled.
How and is IPVM still going to do ISC West Coverage?!? I need it now more then ever since I'm breaking my streak this year.
Anyone with booth duty going to make the rounds and moonlight for IPVM? Or at least give us the photo coverage (no need to interview).
This thread is so long and varied it's hard to inject appropriately. And this may be quasi-inappropriate injection anyway but I feel it worth noting.
All I have to say on the topic of personal hygiene is all one has to do is go to the stalls in the men's bathroom at any trade show. Ask yourself, " how many children are at this show?" None. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Why are so many grown men still leaving the seat down and leaking all over it in addition to the floor surrounding the head? Not just one stall, damn near all of them in every quadrant of the exhibit hall!
What's wrong with all you selfish, disrespectful, inconsiderate, hygiene-derelict adults? Where can I drop a deuce in Vegas without absorbing some strangers remnant bodily fluids? That gives you an indication of how much you can trust the hygiene of the person standing next to you or shaking hands. (and no, I don't think virus is transmitted on a toilet seat)
I trust 25% of attendees to wash their hands. Good luck containing transmission with 100+ handshakes per person per day. If you're not otherwise health compromised, you may get sick but hopefully won't die.
The SIA directors comments are nothing short of disgraceful. They certainly are ill-informed.
In many other walks of life, such irresponsible comments made by a senior person within a business would lead to disciplinary action or instant dismissal.
Shameful comments and I hope in time she reflects back on this and realises the error of her ways.
She is a idiot !!!! , Just shows SIA only cares about money and not about human life.....
Fenner continues to defend the flu position:
The key section about deaths from Fenner's link is:
There is no doubt the flu has killed more people in the past. The question / risk remains how fast coronavirus deaths will ramp up especially if we do not take preventive measures.
300MM kids missing school worldwide as of 5 minutes ago. NW USA school systems shutting down, 1K+ self quarantine in NE USA, confirmed cases spike in US.
Facebook just closed it's Seattle office.
Yet the show goes on.

Intersec Expo Saudi Arabia that was originally going to be held on September is now on hold. It is the sister exhibition of the Intersec security exhibition that is held annually in Dubai in January.
Is see ABA also cancelled their conference next week for the National Institute on White Collar Crime in San Diego.
Ms. Fenner has no knowledge or experience that qualifies her to make statements about public health risks or epidemiology. Her rant is contrary to what health professionals are telling us (wash your hands, avoid crowded places...hello? Get that second one?).
At this point, I think ISC West should at minimum be postponed until August and if that is logistically impossible, then it should simply cancelled like so many other larger trade shows in the world. At least 24 trade shows have already been cancelled due to this health emergency, among them Mobile World Congress and Google I/O (see link below for more).
And, by the way, flying to the venue, in cool, dry, recirculated and potentially infected air with 200+ other people is borderline stupid. This has caused United Airlines, as only one example, to take the unprecedented step of cancelling 10% of its domestic flights and 20% of its international flights.
Perhaps Ms. Fenner is right that information should sought from sources other than the mainstream media, but she is certainly not among those sources, nor is SIA or ISS, for whom she appears to be speaking.
Coronavirus Cancellations: COVID-19 Fears Costing Hundreds Of Millions As Events Become Casualties
I think Janet is just worried that if the show is cancelled, she wont get her Sandy Jones Volunteer of the Year Award to put on her trophy wall.
Lourdes shrine closes healing pools as precaution against coronavirus – Catholic Philly
If holy water won't help I sure don't trust the bathrooms in Las Vegas to keep me virus free.
Amen
Hey John, is there a way to stop email notifications for the articles we comment? I think it's okay to receive notification when your post got replied, but any new comment would send an email to me... That's crazy, my mailbox is filled with IPVM now......
is there a way to stop email notifications for the articles we comment?
More Positive Press for SIA/Reed......SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!!!!!
Blacklisted Dahua and Hikvision due to appear at major US security trade show - Business Insider
And another event postpones.....But not ISC West...….
BREAKING: 50th Anniversary, General Assembly & Industry FORUM | POSTPONED !!
It’s very simple , until people die from this virus , ISC will keep the show going and reselling the cancelled booths. These are the facts.
Check out the SaaStr regulations (scroll down). Surprisingly, SXSW is still on, but many bailing out.
https://www.barrons.com/articles/coronavirus-is-forcing-companies-to-cancel-conferences-51583147701?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo
At this point, I do not see the ROI for manufacturer to attend the show.
Corona virus conversation will take 50% of your scheduled meetings.
Most of the attendees (Non-manufactures) probably canceled their travel plans.
Everyone will be wary about shaking people's hand and not be focused on what your pitching.
Why risk health of your employees when there will be no ROI for the show at this point. You can probably save a lot more money in travel expenses instead of putting in more expense on top of what you might lose by pulling out.
I even stopped going to the gym until more details are provided in terms of vaccine development and human trials next month.
The risk of ISC West brand getting damaged from just one incident of Corona virus arising from the event would be ironic when ISC West is all about security and safety for the public.
Since the flu kills one in a thousand, and we have all been through it several times, I get my annual vaccine and don't give it much further thought.
Covad19 is an evolving and invisible risk, with an arguably much higher death rate than flu, and for me it is calm and reasonable to assess the risk and reward of ISC in favor of skipping it. Having a self interested party call that panic doesn't factor into my decision.
I am healthy and figure I would be OK if exposed, but I live in close proximity to people I care about who are in a higher risk category. That means I would be wondering what I am exposing them to even when asymptomatic. And that factors in big time.
Fenner's jab at mainstream media can be taken, intended or not, as a reckless comment with cloudy insinuation. Does she have new information from a more reliable source? Was her critique of MSM also a broad dismissal of advice from experts on MSM? Was it simply a slur of convenience, a handy politically biased talking point?
SIA and ISS might appreciate clarity in communication, which would avoid needlessly alienating a big sector of the public that still values accountability and relies on MSM for the role it plays.
MSM in turn relies on credibility and trust, and can be called out and held accountable to journalistic standards. This is in contrast to cable opinion shows or online social platforms of information distribution which, because of their revenue model, rely on curated inflammatory content to drive up viewer retention. Accuracy is sporadic and of a lower value for their audience, and the public good plays an incidental role if any.
Would Ms. Fenner care to clarify the sources she would like us to supplement our information diet with?
Even the Vegas showgirls have better sense than Janet. Her marketing skills are good, but not enough to get a positive spin on the situation.
Las Vegas on edge as coronavirus spreads nationwide - Los Angeles Times
This show will propagate the virus.
Wow.....Even the Stoners get it...….Hello...Reed...SIA...Are you there?
Its really a shame but this show will not do well......I was really looking forward to it but, the attendance is going to be low.....
I wonder when the ISS CEO, Mr. Figuieredo, who is not attending the show, will come here to tell us whether Fenner actually speaks for his company, or whether he supports her misinformed and irresponsible grandstanding efforts for personal exposure.
SXSW...Cancelled.
That Harvard Professor I cited in the article about 40-70% of the world getting infected with coronavirus is criticizing the "false narrative that things are under control in the US".
Media: you need to stop reporting on new cases in the US. They are newly discovered. I know you don't mean to but by saying the literal case numbers you are playing into the false narrative that things are under control in the US.
— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) March 8, 2020
More broadly, there is a growing belief among specialists that there will be an explosion of confirmed cases in the US in the next few weeks.
The numbers are going to get worse before they better. That is the reality we will have to live with for the next few months.
Janet Fenner has left ISS, posting:
She must be an old hippie. Looked at that signage or whatever it is for 10 seconds trying to figure it out and felt like I just left a Grateful Dead show. What a long strange trip it’s been!