Something that humanity has been struggling with since the beginning of the pandemic is the whole ‘no-contact’ thing.
For various reasons (most suspect being that we’re social creatures at heart), the idea of being trapped with naught but your own thoughts for months on end and only interacting through the internet is dreadful for a multitude of reasons (although bliss for some).
Every time a couple of people try to get together, there is positive testing for COVID-19 while everyone gasps and ponders how precisely this came to be. It seems to inevitably strike regardless of precautions and safety measures in place to prevent an outbreak, frustrating the world as a whole that is simply trying to keep the metaphorical ball moving forward.
The most recent to seem to fall wayside from attempting to continue to run events is Flashpoint, and it’s drawing questions about esports working inside of a ‘bio-bubble’ where the strict separation between those inside and outside means that LAN esports could restart sooner than we think, even while the pandemic rages on.
Activision-Blizzard has been rumored to be eyeing the possibility of quarantining staff and players alike within the Call of Duty League and the possibility of that action being brought to the Overwatch League, where teams would once again be locally housed for competitive purposes that would allow the two leagues to return to a LAN environment with health and safety at the forefront.
Yesterday, Flashpoint announced that multiple staff members of Flashpoint have tested positive for COVID-19, in spite of strict compliance with UK mandates.
We are taking the proper measures to proceed safely and plan to complete the event this weekend.
We will bring you updates to the start time of matches today shortly.
— Flashpoint (@Flashpoint) December 5, 2020
Further updates were not readily offered on social media.
Further news regarding which of the staff members have tested positive for the virus that frankly has life-altering possibilities incurred even after a full recovery has not been offered either, nor have any teams that were within the Flashpoint tournament stated a recent outbreak within their living arrangements.
The news came the day before the Finals were scheduled to occur which ended up being between Virtus.Pro and OG in a best of three format. It resulted in the OG versus MIBR match being postponed for roughly five hours.
No company wants to be known for resulting in a super-spreader event, and it’s unlikely that Flashpoint is electing to be eccentric in this tasking either; still, it must be noted that the spreading occurred at an enclosed studio when scientists are continuing to beg the world’s population to stay indoors while simultaneously warning that the holiday season will bring about a deadly spike.
