COVID-19 Information and 8th ISPAH Congress, Vancouver, October 28-31, 2020
Date: 14 March 2020
Dear ISPAH Community,
Our thoughts go out to the people who have been affected by novel coronavirus COVID-19. We appreciate greatly the healthcare professionals, communities, and governments from around the world who are working to contain this coronavirus.
We are reaching out to you regarding our plans for the 8th ISPAH Congress in Vancouver, BC (October 28-31, 2020) in the context of the recent cancellation of other international events and travel bans related to COVID-19. Although our Congress is over seven (7) months away, we understand that many potential delegates will be wondering how our Congress may be affected. We also understand that in this climate travel to an international Congress may not be your first thought.
Please know that the conference organizers and the ISPAH Board of Directors are carefully reviewing the conditions daily related to the spread of COVID-19 and the implications for our Congress delegates in October 2020. Based on our current understanding and our experiences with planning major conferences of this nature, we sincerely expect to hold our Congress as originally scheduled (in October 2020) and are on target to meet this goal. At present, the 8th ISPAH Congress (Vancouver 2020) is scheduled to proceed as planned on October 28-31, 2020.
We however recognize that the full picture of the potential impact of the COVID-19 spread may not be fully clear for the next few months. The safety and security of our attendees, staff, and Congress personnel is our first priority. As the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety, wellbeing, and provide maximum flexibility for our attendees. This includes extending our symposia, workshop, and abstract submission deadlines, changing our refund policies, and extending the deadline for early bird registrations to the Congress. We trust that this will help alleviate some of the concerns associated with preparing for attending the Congress in the Fall of 2020.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is currently monitoring the situation related to COVID in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other international partners. At this time, the Public Health Agency of Canada has assessed the public health risk associated with COVID-19 as low for the general population in Canada, but this could change. The Public Health Agency of Canada, along with provincial, territorial and community partners, continues to reassess the public health risk, based on the best available evidence as the situation evolves. Please check the latest travel health notices before travelling. There are several active travel health notices for COVID-19. Each country or area may have different levels of risk. These risk levels may change as the COVID-19 event evolves internationally.
We will continue to monitor the situation over the months leading up to the Congress. We will provide ongoing updates to registered delegates and accepted presenters throughout. This will include posts on our Congress website (www.ispah2020.com) and through social media (Twitter: @ispah2020 @ispah).
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we attempt to address this changing landscape. The latest WHO statements can be found at WHO website on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
We look forward to welcoming you to Vancouver in 2020. Please direct any questions to info@ispah2020.com.
Sincerely,
Your Local Organizing Committee
8th ISPAH Congress, Vancouver 2020
