Jo Etzel<p>For those of us still trying to avoid illness, I give high marks for the OHBM venue (Brisbane convention center): CO2 levels have stayed quite low in the auditorium, poster hall, and common areas. The symposium rooms were not as good; if more than a quarter or so full the CO2 increases rapidly. I also like that there are many easy-to-reach nice outdoor gathering places, and the opening night reception included a large patio.</p><p>None of that helps much when unmasked folks are talking loudly at close proximity, unfortunately, which happens a lot at posters, dinners, bars, etc. I'm not the only attendee masking (and no hassle about it), but we are in the distinct minority. </p><p>Mentions and black humor about covid and "colds" started at the opening ceremony and keep popping up; plenty of coughing and at least one person saying they were currently running a fever. It'd be interesting to track proportion coughing on the audio recordings over the conference and see if it actually increases or just seems to.</p><p>I haven't usually been the only person masking on trains, buses, or in shops around Brisbane, either, which is nice.</p><p><a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/stillMasking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>stillMasking</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/Aranet4" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Aranet4</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/OHBM2025" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OHBM2025</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/CovidIsNotOver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CovidIsNotOver</span></a> <a href="https://fediscience.org/tags/OHBM" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>OHBM</span></a></p>