WHO Declares COVID-19 Outbreak a Pandemic; Eye Care Meetings Cancelled

The World Health Organization on Wednesday said the COVID-19 outbreak can now “be characterized as a pandemic.” The declaration by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was made after he noted that “in the past 2 weeks the number of cases outside China has increased thirteen-fold and the number of affected countries has tripled.”

As of Friday afternoon, the number of coronavirus cases topped 137,000 in 114 countries and regions around the globe, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The outbreak has caused several eye care conferences to be cancelled, rescheduled, or monitored. Recently, the organizers of Vision Expo cancelled the Vision Expo East meeting scheduled to take place in New York, March 26-29. That meeting is being consolidated with Vision Expo West in Las Vegas in September. ARVO officials said its urges those who were planning to attend the annual meeting to expedite flight cancellations. Attendees who booked through ARVO housing do not need to do anything; reservations will be cancelled automatically. Individuals who booked reservations on their own should cancel them immediately. Annual meeting registration fees will be fully refunded for individuals that do not select an alternative presentation option when that information is released in the next two weeks.

In addition, the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery’s annual AECOS European Symposium, scheduled to take plan in Florence, Italy in June, has been cancelled. That meeting is planned to reconvene in Florence in the summer of 2021.

One of the largest conferences of the year, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) annual meeting, is scheduled to take place in May in Boston. ASCRS’ executive director Stephen Speares recently stopped by Bryn Mawr Communications’ headquarters in Wayne, Pennsylvania, to discuss the current status of the meeting.

“We feel it’s very important to make everyone aware that we will continue to follow the advisories and guidelines issued by the World Health Organization as well as the Centers for Disease Control. Of course, the most important thing and paramount to us is the safety and well-being of our meeting attendees. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and continue to provide updates on ASCRS.org,” Mr. Speares said.

AAO Issues Alert to Ophthalmologists

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recently released an alert updating ophthalmologists on what they should be aware of regarding the highly contagious virus.

According to AAO, several reports suggest the virus that causes COVID-19 can also cause conjunctivitis and possibly be transmitted by aerosol contact with the conjunctiva. Patients who present to ophthalmologists for conjunctivitis who also have fever and respiratory symptoms, including cough and shortness of breath, could represent cases of COVID-19. The Academy and federal officials recommend protection for the mouth, nose (e.g., an N-95 mask) and eyes (goggles) when caring for patients potentially infected with the virus. COVID-19 is very likely susceptible to the same alcohol- and bleach-based disinfectants that ophthalmologists commonly use to disinfect ophthalmic instruments and office furniture.

On its website, AAO has released a list of recommended protocols to employ when scheduling or seeing patients.

These include:

• When calling patients about visit reminders, ask to reschedule appointments for patients with nonurgent ophthalmic problems who have a respiratory illness, fever or returned from a high-risk area within the past 2 weeks
• Patients who come to an appointment should be asked before entering the waiting room about respiratory illness and if they or a family member have traveled to a high-risk area in the past 14 days. If they answer ‘yes’ to either question, they should be sent home and told to speak to their primary care physician.
• Sick patients who possibly have COVID-19 with an “urgent” eye condition can be seen, but personal protective equipment should be worn by all who come in contact with the patient. Place a facemask on the patient and isolate them in an examination room with the door closed. Use airborne infection isolation rooms (AIIR) if available. Rooms should be thoroughly disinfected afterward.

All practitioners are urged to practice general sanitation and utilize CDC’s recommendations for personal protective equipment, which includes gloves, gowns, respiratory protection and eye protection. In addition, for eye care professionals, slit-lamp breath shields are helpful for protecting both health care workers and patients from respiratory illness.