Dear SASS members and conference attendees,
In light of the constantly evolving situation around the Covid-19 outbreaks, the SASS leadership wanted to provide an update on the current state of our upcoming 110th annual meeting in Puerto Rico in six weeks. The health and safety of SASS participants and the people of Puerto Rico are our top priorities as we have considered our options for navigating this public health crisis. We have been paying close attention to information and advice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the US and similar institutions and governmental agencies in relevant countries with regard to travel to Puerto Rico at the end of April 2020.
After much deliberation and consultation with local officials in Puerto Rico, we have decided to continue to move forward with plans for the conference while taking best practice precautions and offering remote participation options for any attendees who may be unable to attend in person. If the situation should change in any way that would entail either probable harm to our participants from attending the conference or to the Puerto Rico community from our coming there, that decision may change, but for now, cancelling the conference does not appear to be necessary, particularly given the relatively small size of our meeting, which falls well below the threshold at which cancellation has been recommended.
We want to assure you that we are taking this situation very seriously and doing all we can to minimize both health risks and possible financial harm to the society, our members, or greater Puerto Rico. The conference hotel, the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar, has implemented additional safety measures, including hand sanitizer stations in high traffic areas, frequent disinfection of all non-porous general hand contact surfaces, and on-site medical professionals and supplies. For those of you who may be more directly affected by the coronavirus due to geographic location, age, or health situation and therefore unable to join us in Puerto Rico, we are able to offer various options for remote participation (via Skype, Zoom, or pre-recorded video with live Q&A). We strongly encourage any participant who becomes ill shortly before the conference or comes in direct contact with an infected person to withdraw from in-person participation. If you would like to take advantage of this option for remote participation, please get in touch with the conference organizers or Kimberly LaPalm, SASS’s executive director, to make appropriate arrangements.
Given the fluid nature of this situation, we are not processing any refunds until after the conference, to allow each of you the maximum flexibility with your plans, since the situation may be very different in five or six weeks. Most airlines are waiving change fees for rescheduling flights, and reserved hotel rooms at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar can be cancelled without penalty up to seven (7) days before arrival. If you know for sure that you will be unable to attend the conference, please inform the conference organizers so we can note your withdrawal from the program or schedule you for a virtual presentation. After the conference, we will process partial refunds of registration fees to remote presenters, or full refunds to presenters who were forced by coronavirus-related circumstances to cancel their participation entirely.
Sincerely,
Julie
CDC Recommendations for travel to Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican Department of Health (in Spanish)
CDC Recommendations for community events and large gatherings