As I mentioned in Friday’s Front Line , we want to keep you – and the patients you care for – healthy and safe. Besides the obvious direct concerns involving coronavirus (74 cases in the Bay area; the state of emergency declared by the state of California and city of San Francisco); the possibility of care providers being quarantined because of travel to San Francisco; and the possibility of our physicians bringing the virus back to a very vulnerable patient population, the recent travel bans enacted by community and academic organizations alike would have gutted our meeting. At most recent count, we would not have half of our vice-chairs, multiple committee chairs and executive officers, the SWOG group chair (me), at least half of our plenary speakers, and a large chunk of our members, able to attend. Quite simply, we would not have been able to conduct the meeting effectively.



Please keep the semi-annual meeting dates on your calendar. We are working with a dedicated task force and our committee chairs to find the best way to conduct our critical business virtually. Keep your eye on SWOG.org. We will post a revised meeting agenda there as soon as possible. We will also make sure we get you the proceedings from various committee meetings and working groups.



In the meantime, please contact the Hyatt Regency San Francisco to cancel your hotel reservation. We will also cancel that block of rooms. If you are a SWOG or Hope Foundation subsidized traveler, please stay tuned for direct follow-up by our staff.



We prize our group meetings, and the progress they drive. So, we will miss seeing you in San Francisco. But we will conduct as much business online as we can.



Be well and watch SWOG.org, our Twitter account, and your inbox for updates.