The Society of Interventional Radiology announced March 6 that it is canceling its 2020 meeting in Seattle due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It was scheduled to begin on March 28.
In a statement issued Friday, SIR said the decision was based on recommendations from state, federal and global health organizations. Those requests included a plea for event organizers to avoid gathering large groups of people together and consider postponing events.
“Based on these recommendations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization information, and numerous travel restrictions issued by companies and medical institutions, SIR and SIR Foundation leadership have made the difficult, but necessary and responsible, decision to cancel the SIR 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle,” Executive Director Susan E. Sedory and President Laura Findeiss, MD, said in a statement.
It's yet another cancelation in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society this week canned its annual gathering in Orlando and the American Board of Radiology announced that certain exam dates will no longer take place as scheduled. The European Society of Radiology also decided to push its annual congress in Austria back from March 11 to July 15.
SIR said it plans to explore virtual meeting options in the coming weeks as a potential replacement. The society also noted that it would never knowingly do anything to harm its members, staff, colleagues and their families.
“Preparing for the conference involves the time, talent and ideas of a great many of our physician volunteers, speakers, exhibitors and event partners. We’re incredibly grateful for this and deeply disappointed not to be able to postpone or hold the meeting as planned,” the statement read.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.