Overview: The training describes the risk-based approach that WHO recommends to aid health authorities and event organizers in their planning for upcoming mass gatherings amid the current COVID-19 pandemic. WHO has developed a set of COVID-19 risk assessments tools dedicated to generic mass gatherings as well as to sports specific and religious specific mass gatherings. These risk assessment tools provide a user-friendly way for health authorities and organizers to understand the level of risk an upcoming mass gathering may hold in further spreading COVID-19, both within a country and globally, and to learn about the precautionary measures that can be applied to the planned event to mitigate such risk. All of the tools mentioned can be found on the WHO website. The course has been developed in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Health Security.

Learning objectives: By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• define mass gathering and the risk posed by it;
• explain how a risk assessment can help with public health planning;
• list the steps involved in:
  • conducting a generic risk assessment for mass gatherings,
  • conducting a risk assessment for sports mass gatherings, as well as
  • conducting a risk assessment for religious mass gatherings;
• score risk associated with an upcoming mass gathering; and
• identify ways to increase the safety of participants through the application of mitigation measures.

Course duration: Approximately 1 hour.

Certificates: A Record of Achievement certificate will be available to participants who score 80% across all scenario-based quizzes.

Additional information: Please find links to the updated WHO mass gathering risk assessment tools discussed in this course listed below:

• WHO mass gathering COVID-19 risk assessment tool – Generic events
  • Currently available translations:
  • Ferramenta da OMS para Avaliação de Risco da COVID-19 em Eventos com Aglomerações
• WHO mass gathering COVID-19 risk assessment tool – Sports events
• WHO mass gathering COVID-19 risk assessment tool – Religious events
• Key planning recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of COVID-19. Interim guidance, 29 May 2020

Please note: Presentations in this course were revised in October 2020 to reflect updates in the risk assessment tools.