The American Chemical Society (ACS) announced that for the safety and protection of its members, staff and the citizens of Philadelphia, it will terminate its Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo scheduled for 22-26 March in Philadelphia.

Safety is a core value of the American Chemical Society, and it permeates all of our actions, activities and events. With the Pennsylvania governor’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency last Friday, we do not feel we can guarantee the safety of the 15,000 attendees expected for the Philadelphia meeting or of the city residents themselves.

—ACS CEO Thomas Connelly Jr., Ph.D.

Additional data points used in making this decision include the rapidly expanding trajectory of the COVID-19 outbreak in Pennsylvania, other US states and globally, as well as input from Philadelphia city officials, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and ACS members and meeting attendees.