General meeting 2020 and corona situation

Ladies and gentlemen, dear MOV members,

This letter is addressed to you who have already registered or intend to register for this year's Annual General Meeting 2020 (AGM 20) on 7 November 2020. A text with the same wording will also appear on the MOV homepage.

The current coronavirus situation is threatening to spiral out of control. The daily increase in the number of acutely infected people is a growing concern for the entire Executive Board. Even though individual participants are ultimately responsible for themselves, the Board's duty of care and sense of responsibility require us to protect you as a precautionary measure. We are still cautiously optimistic that we will be able to hold the MV 20, but possibly without a social event in accordance with the programme at the German Navy Museum (DMM) on the evening before.

Firstly, according to our assessment of the situation here, there is no danger of the city of Wilhelmshaven being declared a risk area. Secondly, the Gorch-Fock-Haus conference centre with its Rudolf Kinau Hall offers seating for up to one hundred people, even under the current coronavirus conditions. However, only around 65 people have registered, including MOV officials such as members of the Board of Directors, office staff, etc.

According to our assessment, the risk of infection for individual participants on site is considered to be low or calculable. We have attached the protection and hygiene concept of the Gorch-Fock-Haus so that you can make up your own mind. Ultimately, you will have to decide for yourself whether you wish to continue your participation in view of the ban on accommodation in Lower Saxony, which we would of course be pleased to see.

Please understand this letter as a kind of forewarning, as the corona situation may get even worse, forcing us to postpone the MV 20 to the following year. In any case, we will inform you again by the end of next week so that you have sufficient time to cancel your bookings with the hotels in Wilhelmshaven if necessary.

signed. Wolfgang Nolting
Former Vice Admiral
Management Board