Controversies in Ophthalmology: Europe (COPHy) Postpones COPHy EU Meeting

The leadership of the Controversies in Ophthalmology: Europe (COPHy) meeting has decided to postpone its COPHy EU Meeting scheduled to take place March 26-29 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The statement below was sent on Monday to its members:

We would like to inform you that we have decided to postpone the COPHy EU 2020 meeting.

As physicians or others in health care, many of us are aware of the current science behind COVID-19 which has been a challenge for our colleagues in Europe, and an important epidemiologic and emotional challenge for our colleagues throughout the rest of the world. We wish everyone well in their efforts to address the public health emergency. 

Recognizing the WHO’s declaration of the importance of containing the virus to the best of everyone’s ability, Anat and I concluded it was best to postpone the meeting until a later date and are exploring potential options. We will let you know as soon as we can provide more information.

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. As you can imagine, this decision was not made lightly. For now, we hope everyone will do what they can, not only regarding COVID-19, but also for all medical conditions that we address in our efforts to reduce the magnitude of suffering, especially from vision impairment including blindness around the world, and thank you for helping us in that battle with meetings such as COPHy EU and the camaraderie that goes along with the science.

We look forward to seeing all of you soon. 

Sincerely, 

Neil Bressler and Anat Loewenstein

Co-Chairs, Controversies in Ophthalmology: Europe (COPHy) 2020