We are reflecting on the fact that the world we live in is quite different from what it was just a few months ago. And we know from talking to many of you that you feel the same.

In January we saw the catastrophic bushfires that devastated many areas of Australia, especially regional Australia. Now, we are seeing the global spread of COVID-19 (also known as ‘coronavirus’), a virus that threatens our health as well as our economic wellbeing.

We take our role supporting our CERA community – donors, patients and other supporters – very seriously, and I want to be sure to keep you updated on our business continuity.

Complex decisions

At CERA, we’re making complex decisions on a daily basis to keep our workforce and CERA community safe, while also moving our research forward in this unprecedented environment.

Our policies and the measures we have implemented to-date are shaped by ongoing advice from the Australian Government Department of Health, the Victorian Chief Medical Officer and the World Health Organisation.

This is a quickly evolving situation and we are re-assessing our approach daily to ensure it is as effective as possible.

It is important that we take a calm and balanced view, making sensible decisions in the best interests of the CERA community and our staff.

Slowing the spread

We believe we can all play a role in slowing the spread of the virus, and one way is to postpone Vision Expo scheduled for 14 May.

We will seek to reschedule this event to a time later in the year. This is a precautionary measure to help slow the spread and impact of the virus on the broader community.

We are implementing further digital strategies to continue to share with you the research of our world-leading basic scientists and clinician scientists.

This will include more digital content via our website and social media.

Valued support

Thank you to so many of you who have supported CERA this year. Our Glaucoma Appeal is ongoing and your support during this difficult time is more important than ever.

We are enormously proud of our role in advancing eye research and the incredibly positive impact CERA has on the lives of so many.  We are determined that, come what may, we must continue to work towards achieving our vision of a world free from vision loss and blindness long into the future. Your support is vital to helping us together to achieve this vision.

Now more than ever, we will navigate this situation together.

On a personal note, please look after yourself and take all necessary precautions to fight against COVID-19.

If there are things you need from us or additional ways we can support you, please let us know. And most importantly, we wish good health for you, your families, and your communities.