The European Congress of Radiology 2020 (ECR 2020) has been postponed to July.
The decision to delay the event, which was due to take place in Vienna from 11-15 March, is in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The European Society of Radiology (ESR) took the decision following guidance from the Austrian government.
The ESR have stressed that the event on the new scheduled dates - 15-19 July 2020 - ‘is a fully equivalent replacement’.
The ESR statement, sent to all registered delegates, says:
“It goes without saying that registration fees for the event as well as for the online services will remain in place for the new congress date. Registration to the ECR 2020 remains open.
“After careful evaluation of the spreading coronavirus epidemic, and considering the recent statements issued by the WHO and the ECDC, and the related evolving world-wide restrictions and crisis, the ESR was forced to make this decision.
“Above all, we have analysed the recommendations from the Austrian health authorities for large-scale events and came to the conclusion that we are not in a position to fulfil their requirements and guarantee a safe congress for our participants and industry partners at this time.
“The safety, health and well-being of our delegates and partners will always be the highest priority for the ESR.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks to our participants and industry partners for their understanding, continuous support and flexibility. The majority of our industry partners have already expressed their ongoing commitment and are fully on board for ECR 2020 in July.”