ACA Connects said it has decided to postpone its 2020 policy summit in Washington later this month.
After careful consideration taking into account the most relevant new information, ACA Connects has decided to postpone its 27th Annual Summit on March 17-19 in Washington, D.C., doing its part to help the global health community combat the spread of the coronavirus," the association said.
“It’s unfortunate the Summit will not happen in March after so much planning and the incredible interest of our members to again join us in Washington. We really thought we could make a go of it, even earlier this week,” said ACA Connects president Matt Polka.
Polka informed attendees in an email Thursday (March 5), telling them that after two "non-stop" days reviewing development's in the virus' spread, they had concluded "– now is simply not the time to hold our Summit."
"[T]he last 48 hours have clearly and rapidly shown the spread of the virus was getting worse, our members and attendees were becoming increasingly concerned about travel, and Washington was preparing for swift action to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in lawmakers’ and regulators’ offices," Polka said. "Federal officials have already begun reducing access to their offices and preventing their employees from participating in large group functions."
The policy lineup had lined up a number of top government officials, including from the FCC.
The announcement came only a day after the FCC signaled it would be suspending staff appearances before large groups.
