We also hope May will be a lower-Covid month. But by taking mitigation steps as a matter of course, we hope we can have a successful conference while acknowledging the new-normal.
(Thanks @phpledge for giving us some language & ideas to work with! And to some attendees who asked us about Covid policy, which made it easier for me to push a little from inside, too.)
Update: we've now heard from an attendee that they've mostly given up on participating in academic things because they are not inclusive and accessible, and thanking us for conference accessibility policy.
(In addition to requiring masking we planned for some remote participation from the get-go--and we know we will get some last-minute shifts, too.)
Anyway, we don't have to internalize & perpetuate the lousy ways our institutions treat us; better conferences are possible!