The American College of Cardiology will proceed with its annual meeting this month in Chicago amid other cancellations due to coronavirus.
ACC 2020, which this year is being held in conjunction with the World Congress of Cardiology, is slated to take place from March 28-30 at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. On March 2, the International Housewares Association (IHA), which hosts the annual Inspired Home Show, became the first organization to cancel a major trade show in Chicago due to coronavirus fears.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the Inspired Home Show was expected to bring 60,000 attendees, 2,200 exhibitors and $77 million to Chicago between March 14 and March 17. In a statement, the IHA said its board of directors and staff would be working together to measure the financial impact of the cancellation on the industry and association.
“For the last several weeks, we have been watching this situation very carefully, with our primary concern being the safety and wellbeing of the home and housewares industry,” Derek Miller, president of the IHA, said in the statement. “In the end, the global nature of our event, combined with the worldwide concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak and ongoing travel restrictions, make it impossible for us to hold the Inspired Home show next week.”
The IHA isn’t the only organization pulling back from scheduled conferences—on March 3 the European Society of Cardiology canceled its March 7-9 conference in Athens due to coronavirus risk and multiple vendors have pulled out of HIMSS, which is scheduled for March 9-13 in Orlando.
As of March 5, the CDC had reported 100 cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and 10 deaths from COVID-19. Global cases have also seen a rapid uptick in recent weeks, with most deaths reported in China, where the outbreak originated.
Timothy W. Attebery, CEO of the ACC, said the ACC.20/WCC conference would move forward as scheduled despite the risk of coronavirus. The college expects more than 18,000 attendees and over 260 exhibitors from 108 countries.
“The ACC continues to closely monitor health and safety updates and recommendations issued by the WHO and CDC, as well as state and local health organizations,” he said in a statement to Cardiovascular Business. “In Chicago, the ACC is collaborating with the McCormick Place Convention Center, the city of Chicago and other conference stakeholders to assess risk and develop an onsite readiness and reaction plan.”
Attebery noted that ACC.20/WCC attendees can expect increased hand sanitizer stations at the conference, as well as educational materials on ways to minimize COVID-19 risk.
“The ACC always takes the health, wellbeing and safety of its members, faculty, exhibitors, attendees and staff very seriously,” he said. “We will not waver in this commitment and are looking forward to a successful ACC.20/WCC in Chicago.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.