March 12, 2020.

Dear SPEC 2020 participants,

We all have been following the news about COVID-19. Your health and wellbeing are our absolute priority as we closely monitor the rapidly changing situation.

On Wednesday the World Health Organization declared this a pandemic. Wednesday evening the US announced a halt in travel for all foreign citizens to the US from Europe for 30 days. Regrettably, we must cancel SPEC 2020 which was planned for May 17-22, in Monterey, California.

We want to reassure you that full refunds of your registration fees including any optional excursions selected will be provided. Your room reservations at the Monterey Marriott have a 48 hour cancellation policy, so are easily cancellable, but you must cancel your reservation yourself as they were reserved directly by you. For other cancellations of flights and other travel reservations, please contact your home institution and your booking agency. Most airlines have updated policies in effect due to COVID-19.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is unable to reimburse travel expenses including any cancellation or change fees; please work with your home institution for this.

We are exploring with CLIRSPEC, the possibility of hosting this conference at a future date.

If you have questions or would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact us at SPEC2020@lbl.gov

Mike Martin and Cynthia McMurray, for the SPEC 2020 team.

March 8, 2020. We know that many of you may be worried about COVID-19 and if you will be able to travel to Monterey or if SPEC 2020 will be canceled. Your health and wellbeing are our absolute priority as we closely monitor the rapidly changing situation. We continue to monitor the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and guidance from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy.

We want to reassure you that if the conference must be cancelled then full refunds of your registration fees including any optional excursions selected will be provided. Our cancellation policy for registrants is also very lenient before April 1 if you feel you need to cancel for your own reasons. Your room reservations at the Monterey Marriott have a 48 hour cancellation policy, so are also easily cancelled if needed.

March 1, 2020. We are continuing to monitor worldwide developments about coronavirus, COVID-19 and any potential impact it may have on SPEC 2020. Based on current information from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, we are still planning for SPEC 2020 to happen as scheduled. We will promptly e-mail all registered participants and update this website should there be any change.