Coronavirus | COVID-19: Health and Safety Advice
Updated: 20th March 2020
In light of the spread of the coronavirus, EACTS is taking the following action.
• All courses are cancelled until the end of September 2020.
• The Francis Fontan Fund Fellowships are being paused until the end of September 2020.
• Staff will be working remotely. The Windsor office is closed to visitors and EACTS members until further notice.
• We continue to plan for the 34th EACTS Annual Meeting to take place in Barcelona from 8-10 October 2020. We expect EACTS Academy courses to resume from October 2020.
EACTS Academy courses
We have regrettably cancelled the following courses:
• Thoracic Surgery: Part I, 26-28 March, Windsor, UK
• Cell and secretome-based therapies: Translating science into clinical practice, 23-24 April,
Pavia, Italy
• Endovascular Skills Programme, Part I (8-9 May), Part II (3-4 July), Part III (11-12 December), Windsor, UK
• Endoscopic Port-Access Mitral Valve Repair Drylab Training, 18-19 May, Maastricht, the Netherlands
• Fundamentals in Cardiac Surgery: Part II, 1-5 June, Windsor, UK
• EACTS Aortic Valve Repair Summit, 8-9 June, Rome, Italy
• Minimally Invasive Techniques in Adult Cardiac Surgery (MITACS), 18-19 June, Leipzig, Germany
• Endoscopic Port-Access Mitral Valve Repair Drylab Training, 31 August – 1 September, Maastricht, The Netherlands
• Reconstruction of the Aortic Valve and Root: A practical approach, 16-18 September, Homburg Saar, Germany
If you have registered to attend one of the cancelled courses, a member of EACTS staff will be in contact with you. Refunds for registration fees for EACTS Academy courses will be provided.
We continue to plan for the 34th EACTS Annual Meeting to take place in Barcelona from 8-10 October 2020, providing a year’s worth of education in three days. Our EACTS Academy courses will also resume from October 2020.
Francis Fontan Fund Fellowships
With immediate effect we are temporarily pausing the Francis Fontan Fund Fellowships until 30 September 2020. Fellows will not be attending any EACTS related courses, surgical placements or other learning opportunities. We are in touch with fellows to discuss the implications and all Fellowships will be extended. For further information, please visit the Francis Fontan Fund Fellowships https://www.eacts.org/the-association/francisfontanfund/.
Warning: Marketing Scam
Please be aware of marketing scams linked to the coronavirus. We understand that a phishing email has been received by several people purporting to be from the EACTS President. The initial emails invite a response and a follow up email then requests money, citing travel issues due to the coronavirus.
EACTS has nothing to do with any such emails. The emails have not come from EACTS email accounts. We are alerting you to this marketing scam as the emails have been received by some people closely connected with EACTS.
Please refer to official advice in your country on reducing the risk of receiving marketing scams and how to report them.
Contacting EACTS
We have also taken action to support the health and safety of EACTS staff. We are encouraging colleagues to work from home. Our Windsor office in the UK is closed until further notice to EACTS members and visitors. You can continue to contact the office about EACTS related queries by emailing staff direct or using the generic email address: [email protected]
Stay safe and follow official advice
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019