The new normal after the COVID-19 pandemic - Professor Rudy Nuijts

  I write this editorial on Easter Saturday, a beautiful day in the south of the Netherlands where normally the roads would be filled with bikers and hikers because of the long weekend. However, recreational traffic is forbidden and we have landed in a silent, Kafkaesque atmosphere that permits us time to reflect on these worrying and unique times for the medical community and all those in the front lines of battling the COVID-19 threat. It is our job to protect our loved ones, our colleagues and our patients. As a sign of hope and light in this period of Easter, in the last few days we welcome some positivity as there is a slight “flattening of the curve” visible in various European countries. The ESCRS is committed to giving the ophthalmology community every support in the coming days, weeks and months. To encourage and facilitate communication, we have established an ESCRS COVID-19 website. ESCRS EUROTIMES www.eurotimes.org will publish weekly updates on how the virus is affecting ophthalmologists in their daily practices and how they can keep themselves and their patients safe. We will be reporting from your colleagues, their hospitals, their governments, the ophthalmology industry and the European Commission. We have created an online resource centre with protocols, guidelines and informational material from many countries across Europe. We will be updating the website as more material becomes available to us. We do not intend any communications from ESCRS to either validate nor conflict with any local regulations or guidance. Please be aware that any information offered here in our magazine or on our website is not an endorsement by ESCRS of any procedures or activities. The ESCRS annual Congress is scheduled to open October 3rd 2020 in Amsterdam. We have no knowledge of what the situation will be at that time. We will keep you updated in the magazine and through all ESCRS communication channels. However, my dream still is that we will gather together at thee 38th ESCRS Congress in Amsterdam, and as Europeans and friends from all over the world have a moment to socialize and discuss what we have experienced, share our emotions and look forward to what our governments currently call “the new normal”. The good wishes of the ESCRS Trustees, Council of Management and Executive are with you and your families to stay safe and well. Rudy MMA Nuijts is President of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons

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