Dear Colleagues,

I hope you all have returned to socially distant and safe workplaces and are looking forward to some holiday time this summer.

We have a full newsletter for you this week as it will be our last before a pause for the summer break. I hope you have found our communications interesting and informative during this challenging period of time. Many thanks to all who have communicated with us and shared your experiences.

Amongst our COVID survey respondents we randomly picked 20 lucky winners of free registration to our 38th Congress, which will be presented online virtually from 2-4 October, 2020. The winners have been notified this week.

In today’s newsletter Omid Kermani summarises for us the current literature on the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus. Arthur Cummings, Michael Knorz and John Kanellopoulos share the challenges of reopening laser vision correction clinics. We learn about the future of telemedicine from Ken Nischal, Vance Thompson, Elisabeth Yeu and Ranya Habash. Jeffrey Liebman, who experienced COVID-19 in New York, speculates on how the delivery of eyecare and healthcare may change in the future. Finally, from the New England Journal of Medicine we have a video tutorial on the correct use of PPE.

We also notice, at least in the Netherlands, that the discussion on the protection of our environment for future generations has resumed. We therefore are happy to co-partner with our American and Asian colleagues of ASCRS and APACRS on an exploratory questionnaire regarding how to handle OR waste. Please reply to the survey link in the newsletter.

I hope you find over the summer some relaxation of the pressures of the last few months and make plans to join us at ESCRS Virtual Congress on 2 October, 2020.

Stay safe and well,

Rudy Nuijts
Prof. dr Rudy MMA Nuijts
ESCRS President