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NEW YORK—The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) announced yesterday that it had cancelled its upcoming ASCRS/ASOA annual meeting, originally scheduled for May 15 to May 20 in Boston. ASCRS said it came to this decision "in the interest of public safety, after monitoring daily recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), and the City of Boston." In a notice on its website and in attendee communications, the organization said, "ASCRS continues to be an important resource for your ongoing education, advocacy and philanthropic efforts.

"We are exploring the possibility of rescheduling the meeting and will continue to offer online resources to support your ongoing clinical and networking needs. We appreciate your ongoing patience as we continue to work through reconciling registration fees and hotel cancellations. No action is needed on your part at this time. We will update you by the end of the week."

In addition, late last week, ARVO, the large eye and vision research organization, whose members include nearly 12,000 researchers from over 75 countries, cancelled its meeting, informing attendees, "It is with a sad and heavy heart that a decision has been made to cancel the annual meeting to have taken place May 1 to 7 in Baltimore, Md. The health, safety and well-being of the ARVO global community is our highest priority. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), yesterday’s announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a pandemic, numerous university and institutional travel restrictions and ever-increasing numbers of confirmed cases all provide a clear need to take this action.

"Our eye and vision community is greatly affected by the lost opportunity to present the latest research and collaborate with colleagues. Please look for additional communication from us in the next two weeks that will provide alternative presentation options as we continue to work through those details," ARVO said.