Updated March 18, 2020: DDW 2020 is cancelled
DDW® 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled. More information is available in this cancellation announcement and FAQ. If you have additional questions, please submit a ticket to the DDW help desk. This will help direct your question to the appropriate person and expedite a response. Thank you for your patience.
Updated March 11, 2020: DDW relaxes cancellation and refund policies
The Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2020 team is actively evaluating developments concerning coronavirus. We expect DDW will take place as scheduled May 2-5, 2020, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Given that the CDC assesses COVID-19 risk to the majority of people to be low and that DDW 2020 is more than seven weeks away, we continue to monitor the situation and explore virtual meeting options. To provide flexibility, we have extended the early bird registration discount through April 30, and now offer a full refund if your plans change. Please refer to our full list of FAQ’s for additional details.
- Registrants: Should you need to cancel at any time between now and DDW, you will receive a full refund. To cancel, email [email protected] with the reason for your cancellation.
- Exhibitors and sponsors: If you must cancel due to company or government travel restrictions, or if faculty are not available for your event due to the coronavirus, DDW will refund or transfer your deposit to DDW 2021. Please submit the booth cancellation form or the sponsorship cancellation form, and a member of the DDW Show Management Team will be in touch.
Most airlines are restricting flight cancellation fees, contact your carrier directly. If you book lodging through DDW’s partner onPeak there are no upfront costs and you can cancel 24-72 hours before your arrival date.
Updated March 3, 2020: DDW to take place in May, as planned
The Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2020 team is actively evaluating developments concerning COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. We expect DDW will take place as scheduled May 2-5, 2020, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
We are staying abreast of updates from health organizations responsible for tracking and responding to the virus, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
While the CDC notes that the immediate risk from COVID-19 is low, DDW is prepared to respond rapidly to any issues that arise during the meeting and provide assistance to all attendees.
Learn more about our preparations.
Contact DDW if you have questions about your registration or presentations.
20 Responses
Hi
Please keep me posted on any updates as I need to register and book a flight
Many Thanks
Paul Spector
Hi
I am Adil Khatimi. , my email address is [email protected] .
Can I attend the DDW this time online from my own place and if the registration for that is the same
Thanks for your patience. DDW 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled.
Read the full cancellation notice here: https://ddwnewsprod.wpengine.com/news/digestive-disease-week-ddw-2020-is-cancelled/
I am also in the process of booking my flight to DDW 2020. I have paid my registration already.
Please inform us of any cancellations of the conference ASAP
THANK YOU
Thanks for your patience. DDW 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled.
Read the full cancellation notice here: https://ddwnewsprod.wpengine.com/news/digestive-disease-week-ddw-2020-is-cancelled/
It’s a bad look for DDW to be updating only once per week.
Please postpone or cancel the conference. Social distancing is one of the biggest solutions to stop spreading the virus. I know this conference brings you a lot of money but I think we should look at the greater good here.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-cancel-everything/607675/
Thanks for your patience. DDW 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled.
Read the full cancellation notice here: https://ddwnewsprod.wpengine.com/news/digestive-disease-week-ddw-2020-is-cancelled/
Hi， we from China and we have booked a booth on DDW, may i know if we can not attend because of the U.S. Entry Restrictions, can we get the deposit return or make it charge for DDW2021?
Yes, if you must cancel due to company or government travel restrictions, or if faculty are not available for your event due to the coronavirus, DDW will refund or transfer your deposit to DDW 2021. Please contact Alex Vadala and complete this form providing appropriate documentation.
As a concerned Gastroenterologist, many universities have enacted travel bans and the world is practicing social distancing and many large scale events have been cancelled, even in May. ACC was recently cancelled
Along with a large pulmonary conference in May to try to limit transmission and contain the situation for the better good. It may be a little irresponsible to think DDW is above public health concerns as it is not yet cancelled and may bring large groups and people from all over the world. No amount of hand sanitizer at McCormick place will counteract the tens of thousands of people that may congregate if even allowed.
I totally agree. Case in point, 95 infected individuals were linked to a two-day Biogen investment executive meeting in February in Boston with only 170 attendees. In addition to the highly likely possibility of transmitting COVID-19 at DDW, the meeting will sequester a large number of health care providers at a time when they are most needed to combat the disease.
Good afternoon, I am a tour leader from Italy who is scheduled to travel with a group of Italian doctors. The way it looks like now, it’s going to be impossible for anybody from Italy to travel on May 1. There are no flights to/from Milan until end of April. Rome will probably follow soon as nobody can get in and out of the country. Also, we might find ourselves in the situation that here it improves but it gets worse over there. We can’t issue tickets right now, we are stuck and it’s not the kind of trip that you plan in 3 days. It would be a blessing if you could either postpone or cancel 2020 and reschedule Chicago next year. Thanks for your attention and sorry about intruding without being a doctor but I always have 25 to 30 doctors to take care of 🙂
I have to echo the sentiment of “Concerned” and “G. Reddy”. This crisis is only on the rise and institutions across the country are appropriately prohibiting domestic travel such that conference presenters and attendees alike are prohibited from traveling to Chicago in May. It is time to proactively begin planning logistics for webinars and virtual meetings which will take time. This is a medical conference that should be at the forefront of protecting our nation’s public health interests. By urging attendees to congregate in large numbers at this critical time is tone-deaf, socially irresponsible and frankly reckless.
I hope that in the coming days as numbers continue to rise conference organizers will see the light and follow the lead of the AAMC which has cancelled all spring meetings, and other medical conferences as Concerned mentioned.
DDW team
I strongly recommend that you cancel. Social distancing is the only option remaining to contain this pandemic. Also the Governor of Illinois has asked all events having more than 1000 participants to cancel/postpone for 1 month. I know we are outside the window but it is not a good look to conduct such a large international conference in this environment.
Also I strongly recommend more frequent updates on the website and emails from the leadership team to all registrants.
Regards
KK
Yes, today US decided to cancel all flights from UK and Ireland, after a similar measure applied to continental Europe earlier this week. Yet DDW is still (technically) going ahead! This is utterly irresponsible as they deliberately put people at risk. How on Earth do they expect to book flights?!
Now that the CDC has declared that any gathering of more than 50 persons is not recommended for 2 months, how is it possible that DDW can go ahead as planned?
Thanks for your patience. DDW 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled.
Read the full cancellation notice here: https://ddwnewsprod.wpengine.com/news/digestive-disease-week-ddw-2020-is-cancelled/
I believe that it could be safer and better for all our international delegates if the DDW dates move to July. The number of cases and deaths in Latinamerica has just begun and there will not start to stop before July. We need to update information from DDW organizers ASAP. The only very critical case in Mexico is from an important businessman that has traveled to the USA.
Thanks for your patience. DDW 2020 and all associated events, scheduled for May 2-5, 2020, in Chicago, have been cancelled.
Read the full cancellation notice here: https://ddwnewsprod.wpengine.com/news/digestive-disease-week-ddw-2020-is-cancelled/