By: 17 March 2020
20-23 May 2020, Global Spine Congress; Rio de Janeiro – CANCELLED

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Jeffrey Wang, S. Rajasekaran and Jayr Bass joint statement on GSC 2020 Rio de Janeiro—March 09, 2020

After careful evaluation backed by the latest scientific reports, the AO Spine International Board has decided to cancel this year’s GSC in Rio de Janeiro.

Each year we look forward to hosting our spine community, sponsors, and employees from around the world at the Global Spine Congress (GSC) to talk about the latest advancements in spine care, exchange knowledge and ideas, and network with fellow colleagues.

The AO has been carefully monitoring the global situation relating to COVID-19, and the potential impact has changed significantly over the past few days, making it difficult to assess and mitigate any potential risks.

For AO Spine, the well-being of our Spine community is first and foremost, and any decisions regarding the GSC are focused on prioritising the health and safety of our members, partners, exhibitors, and staff.

This decision was not taken lightly. We evaluated the situation from a variety of standpoints: the safety and health of all participants, travel disruption, and the ability to forecast COVID-19’s potential impact globally for the coming months. We also took into account the impact of these factors on the ability of key speakers to participate and on the overall quality of the scientific program.

We understand that this is a disappointment. It was a difficult decision to take and we want to reassure you that all registration fees will be reimbursed in full.

If you have already registered for the GSC, please contact registrationgsc2020@oic.it for more information. If you have questions or concerns that have not been addressed, please contact us directly at gsc@aospine.org and we will be happy to answer.

We thank you in advance for your understanding. While we are disappointed that we will be unable to host you at the GSC in Rio this year, we are excited to welcome you to GSC 2021; stay tuned!

For more information about the event, please visit: https://www.gsc2020.org/