Middlebury College’s renowned Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference has been struck by the Covid-19 virus. According to email communications with participants, conference officials had confirmed 26 cases as of yesterday afternoon. That is, according to one source, about 10% of all participants. There have been no reports of serious illness. So far.

This year’s Bread Loaf Conference began on August 16 and is scheduled to conclude on Saturday. The official response seems more focused on continuing to the finish than on containing the outbreak.

Bread Loaf attendee Caitlin Eichorn has been chronicling the experience on Twitter, which I still refuse to call X. Her Twitter feed is the source of many of the quotations included in this post.

At first, according to Eichorn, there were daily email updates on the number of cases. That practice ended after conference leaders had “conversations with Middlebury’s trusted medical advisors,” according to a message sent to attendees. The counsel from those advisors was to “turn the emphasis away from reporting the number of the cases, which health departments stopped counting awhile ago, focusing instead on hospitalizations which provide a better estimate of how COVID-19 is impacting the community.”

So far this summer, there have generally been fewer hospitalizations than in previous Augusts. That’s nice, but no guarantee. Plus, avoiding immediate hospitalization doesn’t mean you won’t get some variety of long Covid down the road.

I’d prefer not to get sick in the first place. “Trusted medical advisors” notwithstanding, if I were a Bread Loaf participant, I’d want to know what the hell is going on in every detail. And I’d want strict measures taken to limit the spread, if indeed you want to press on with the conference, including limiting the number of indoor events and requiring the use of masks throughout.

Am I overreacting? Perhaps. But I’d rather be prudent than take chances. And being in indoor spaces with more than two dozen sick people is not a chance I’d be willing to take.

There are signs that new iterations of the virus are spreading. In past years, we have seen renewed waves of Covid as the warm weather turns colder. None have been as serious as the original in 2020, but still, Covid is nothing to be, pardon the pun, sneezed at.

Another communication to Bread Loaf attendees included the sentence “All of us lived through a traumatic pandemic — and not long ago — but we are no longer in a pandemic.” That’s true. But the point is, we don’t want another pandemic. Taking a business-as-usual approach to a personal contact-heavy event that’s had a confirmed outbreak seems like a great way to get us into another pandemic.

Conferees who tested positive have reportedly been sent home, without any offer of refunds for days missed or any recompense for travel arrangements made on short notice. This prompted a complaint from writer Jami Nakamura Lin:

not only did 10% of Bread Loaf get COVID, BL also sent them HOME– which they had to pay for!! instead of separate housing like every other conference!! this is what we have to pay $4000 (plus your own shuttle! Plus your own drinks!) for??

Fellow writer Aureleo Sans added this:

Bread Loaf has sent its covid+ workshoppers home w/o regard to increasing viral transmission unlike @LambdaLiterary, @sewaneewriters & @Tin_House, each of which had robust covid protocols. it’s clear which conferences prioritize community safety & which are just a cash grab.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Bread Loaf changed course in the wake of bad publicity. Otherwise they risk tainting all the goodwill they’ve built over the course of nearly a century in business. It’s much easier to lose a reputation than to build one, and it’s really difficult to repair a damaged brand.

As far as the rest of us are concerned, if this is an example of the “trusted” medical advice that’s going to guide us through the next several months, then I’m not buying it. Measures of wastewater around Vermont are showing spikes in the presence of Covid virus. I’ve still got my supply of masks, and I’m about ready to start wearing them again.

Note: I have reached out to Bread Loaf for comment. No reply so far. If I hear back, I will update this post.

Update: It’s Friday night and not a peep from Bread Loaf. Can’t say I’m surprised.