COVID Protocol Info

Feel a sniffle coming on or tickle in your throat? If you are ill or think you might be coming down with something, please rest at home and keep others healthy.

While there is no current mandate for social distancing, we still ask you to be mindful of your proximity to others as we all reacclimate to gathering in public spaces. 

While mask wearing is no longer a venue requirement, event clients may choose to enforce mask wearing for their specific event.  Regardless, you’re welcome to wear a mask while in the venue and you may see staff or other guests wearing them.

Events at Seattle Center, including McCaw Hall, now follow operational and health safety plans to support the health and safety of our staff and event attendees. Please follow all health safety requirements for any event you attend, as outlined by the event producer. We hope you enjoy your time on the Seattle Center grounds and McCaw Hall — and please do your part to ensure a fun, safe and comfortable space for everyone!

As of October 18, 2021, City employees, including McCaw Hall staff, are required to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment. Please click here for additional information about this requirement.

The health and safety of Seattle Center and McCaw Hall employees is our top consideration. Masks are optional for staff while working in communal spaces on the Seattle Center grounds and in buildings, and sick staff are asked to stay home. Employees are trained to clean and disinfect any surface our visitors might touch and carefully track their work. Even event equipment is cleaned and disinfected before and after every use with EPA-approved products.

Our approach to safe and healthy events at McCaw Hall is guided by Seattle Center’s Return to Events and campus operations plans. We work specifically with each event client to help them create an event-specific Health Safety Plan, to ensure that health and safety measures remain consistent no matter who puts on the show!

We know it makes a difference in stemming the spread of viruses, and so we regularly clean and disinfect gathering areas in all City-owned and operated facilities including McCaw Hall. Some additional processes for McCaw Hall include:

• Cleaning all high touch areas & surfaces at least daily or multiple times per day depending on usage of areas during events & shows.
• Implementing a 2-step cleaning & disinfecting process in restrooms.
• Using Electrostatic Disinfectant Sprayers in janitorial cleaning protocols where appropriate.

Our HVAC system has state-of-the-art capabilities and customization options that help ensure staff, performers, and guests are getting the best and safest air quality during events and performances.

During the pandemic, we upgraded and replaced all HVAC filters with top-of-the-line MERV 13 filters to ensure that as many impurities and particulate from the outside air — as well as virus particulate from any necessary recirculated air — are removed. (Re-circulated air will only be considered to maintain a comfortable inside temperature when outside ambient temperatures are extreme.)

For the foreseeable future, we will be running 100% fresh air for all events. Fresh air into the auditorium is served from hundreds of vent caps in the floor and then is fed out through vents in the ceiling. This provides for the best incoming fresh-air and exhaust exchange possible.

A designated Seattle Center staff contact, with help from a health safety consultant, keeps us in the know about the latest guidance and research, and helps adjust our approach and protocols accordingly based on current knowledge and science.