UPDATE: EAU20 to go virtual

It is with great regret that, after lengthy deliberation and considering all information currently available to us, the Board and Executive of the European Association of Urology have to announce the cancellation of the 35th Annual EAU Congress July, 17 – 21, 2020. Since public health safety measures in relation to COVID-19 are now extended worldwide, raising many concerns among our community, we feel that a face-to-face meeting in July is not possible. The safety of our congress participants and the healthcare community as a whole has our highest priority.

A great number of people have been involved in the organisation of the EAU Congress, which is the annual scientific landmark for the European and global urological community. We are sincerely grateful for the time and effort that so many have invested in this meeting and deeply regret that not all accepted scientific work can be presented in the way we had envisioned.

A Virtual EAU20

To make sure that you do not miss out on the important scientific updates in urology, we will host a series of interactive virtual meetings presenting all the highlights of EAU20 around the time that the congress was scheduled to take place. In the meantime, all EAU20 abstracts and surgical videos will soon become available online via the EAU20 Resource Centre. More information on these virtual activities will be provided in the coming months.

In the meantime, please see the Frequently Asked Questions on the Congress website. The site will be updated in the coming days to reflect the new situation.

Published 12 March 2020:

The Dutch government has today decreed the cancellation of all events in the Netherlands with 100 or more participants. This would have impacted EAU20 had it not been postponed last week. New measures to contain the spread of the corona virus in the Netherlands are in force until at least March 31^st. This does not affect our previously communicated points about registrations or the rescheduling of the event. We will continue to monitor the situation in the Netherlands. For further questions we recommend you consult the FAQ which is regularly updated to reflect the current situation.

Published 11 March 2020:

We can now announce new dates for the 35th Annual EAU Congress: EAU20 will take place in Amsterdam on Friday, 17 July to Tuesday, 21 July 2020. This will of course have consequences for your registration and your attendance. We are updating the congress website to reflect the new dates and to add additional information. In the meantime, we have prepared a Frequently Asked Questions about the postponement of EAU20 that can help you find answers.

Published 6 March 2020:

It is with great regret that, after careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the 35^th Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology to July in recognition to the growing health risks worldwide related to the COVID-19 virus.

Although the Dutch government has not yet called for any cancellation of major events and there is no travel ban in place, we feel that it would be irresponsible towards our community and the public health to proceed with the congress at this moment in time.

In addition, with travel restrictions elsewhere affecting attendance in both delegates and faculty, we feel that we could not guarantee the high scientific quality of our Annual Congress on the original dates that we are striving for.

It goes without saying that this decision was not made lightly, but when we cannot fully guarantee the wellbeing of our attendees, partners, and staff, we feel it’s the right decision to make.

We would like to express our appreciation for all those thousands of persons involved in our congress. We hope that we can count on your commitment and flexibility in this challenging time and we are confident that with your support will make EAU20 possible.

The new dates will be announced beginning next week.

Published 5 March 2020:

At the moment, there are 38 known cases of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, an increase in 15 cases since our last update. There have been no fatalities. Transit hubs like Schiphol Airport are being monitored vigilantly to prevent further spread of the disease. For the most up-to-date information on the coronavirus situation in the Netherlands, see the website of the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

At the time of writing, the Dutch government does not consider there to be a large risk to public health and it has taken no special measures to curb travel to the Netherlands or cancel events, as some other European countries have done. Should the virus continue to spread in the Netherlands, the government is prepared to take further steps. The organisers of EAU20 are closely following the situation.

As there is currently no travel ban, or ban on large events, EAU20 is still proceeding as planned. We do ask that delegates travelling from affected parts of the world take their responsibility and observe current hygiene recommendations, as recommended by the WHO and detailed in earlier updates, below.

Please note that all delegates, even those who have cancelled their registration, will have access to all the EAU20 scientific content as it becomes available online.

Further reading:

• “Netherlands preparing for mass Covid-19 outbreak, but no drastic measures yet, PM says” from the NL Times, English-language Dutch News
• “The most frequently asked questions about the coronavirus at Schiphol”, details of measures taken at Schiphol airport.

Published 3 March 2020

In response to various requests that have reached us the last couple of days, we would like to provide you with an update regarding the upcoming Annual EAU Congress in Amsterdam (EAU20) in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.

After thorough internal and external analyses, the organisers of EAU20 will adhere to the current recommendations by the Dutch Health Authorities who currently see no need for restrictions in regard to major events taking place in Amsterdam. Hence the EAU Congress will proceed as scheduled.

The EAU20 organisers remain in close contact with our partners in The Netherlands, as well as the relevant health authorities. As this exceptional situation is changing every day, we remain watchful. Mindful of our responsibilities, we’re also carefully considering appropriate sanitary, health and other measures. We assure you that all appropriate measures will be in place at EAU20.

At this moment the number of registrations for Amsterdam is higher than for the last Congress in Barcelona. The need for scientific updates on urological advancements is clearly growing. Apart from our obligation towards the health of our delegates, we also feel that it is our duty to share the latest developments in our field through the EAU20 scientific programme.

We’re very grateful for the ongoing support of our exhibitors and attendees who continue to register and plan for the congress and we’ve not experienced any substantial impacts so far.

Attending EAU20 is completely voluntary and your personal decision. We trust that our delegates will take appropriate precautions by following the current hygiene recommendations.

For those delegates who do not feel comfortable attending EAU20 in Amsterdam, please be informed that all sessions will be webcasted. With your myEAU credentials, you can access all lectures within 24 hours.

The EAU is taking all concerns very seriously and will re-evaluate the situation regarding public health in The Netherlands on a daily basis. We will publish updates on the developments on a regular basis via the EAU20 website and uroweb.org. For updates on the Dutch situation, you can also check the website of the Dutch Health Authorities (RIVM) at https://www.rivm.nl/en/novel-coronavirus

Published 25 February 2020

At this moment the WHO and the Dutch Health Authorities do not consider the situation regarding the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) a public health emergency in the Netherlands. There is no negative travel advice to visit the Netherlands and therefore the 35th Annual EAU Congress in Amsterdam will proceed as scheduled.

The organisers of EAU20 are monitoring the situation closely and are in regular contact with the various health authorities in The Netherlands. For the latest updates you can check the situation reports by the World Health Organisation.

The venue and the organisation have taken precautions to reduce the general risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections and hand sanitiser will be made available for delegates.

General recommendations and advice for the public:

The World Health Organisation has issued the following general advice to reduce the risk of transmission:

• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.
• Avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals.
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands).
• Within health care facilities, enhance standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially in emergency departments.

WHO does not recommend any specific health measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share their travel history with their health care provider.

Further reading:

• World Health Organisation – Coronavirus disease outbreak: A comprehensive overview of travel advice, general recommendations, Q&A and up-to-date situation reports.
• The EU’s European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: Suggested non-pharmaceutical countermeasures to minimise spread of the disease. Part of a wider selection of guidelines on the coronavirus.