EUPO - European University Professors of OphthalmologyDear Professor, In view of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, which already has affected in one way or another almost everyone in the medical profession and which continues to disrupt almost all of our routines in an unprecedented way, the EUPO Council has made the decision to organize its next course in 2021 rather than on 23-24 September, 2020, as originally scheduled. We are negotiating a new venue and timing and we will publish this information later this year. The Council made this move in consideration of the professors and other faculty that currently are needed more to fight the pandemy than to prepare for the course as would be usual at this time of the year. The Council also anticipates that in the autumn faculty and residents alike probably need time to clear the backlog of cases that are accumulating because of travelling and other restrictions. Finally, it seems unlikely that the coronavirus will vanish anytime soon, and a rebound later in the year remains a possibility. The Council thus can guarantee neither the safety of participants nor unrestricted travel with enough certainty that it could plan to proceed with the original course schedule. In other words, EUPO wishes to prioritize the acute needs of the training institutions and their patients, and the safety of their personnel and would-be course faculty and participants. We apologize for all inconvenience that may be related to the postponement and thank you for understanding and support. Above all, we wish you well! On behalf of the EUPO Council Tero Kivelä, MD, FEBO President |