National Harbor, Md. — The American Dental Education Association announced March 9 it has cancelled its annual session due to the coronavirus disease, now named COVID-19.
The 2020 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, along with the ADA GoDental Recruitment Event and the William J. Gies Awards for Vision, Innovation and Achievement gala, were scheduled March 14-17 in National Harbor, Maryland.
“After discussions with the ADEA principal officers and Board of Directors and with much deliberation, we feel that it is our responsibility to safeguard the health of all honored guests, students, attendees, presenters, exhibitors and staff who contribute to this important event,” said Dr. Karen P. West, ADEA president and CEO, and Dr. Henry A. Gremillion, ADEA Board of Directors chair, in a message posted in ADEA’s website, adea.org.
“This is an unprecedented decision but necessary if we are to uphold the ethical principles on which our profession exists, that of ‘do no harm,’” Drs. West and Gremillion added.
Those planning on attending the meeting can expect to receive additional information about governance, elections, refunds and other associated topics. They are also encouraged to contact their hotel to cancel their reservations and to check adea.org for continuing updates.
The coronavirus has led to tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illness in China, where the virus was first detected in Wuhan, and infections have been reported in many other countries as well, including the U.S. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in animals and people, causing the common cold or more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS.