News

"Dear Patrick, I am sorry that I must send my regrets. Welcome finally, to the Silver Back society of ISAO organizers. I wish you the best of luck. Please convey my heartfelt greetings to those attending my favourite gathering. Ralph" (7 February 2022). Ralph, we will miss you...

Without being overly optimistic, it should not be a problem to travel to Europe next September. The past two years with Covid have shown that this time of year corresponds to the lowest infection rates in Europe; there is a seasonal effect probably due to the fact that during this period people live more outdoors and there is good ventilation in living areas. It seems that in Europe, we are moving more and more towards a harmonisation of measures between countries, with a vaccination pass that should allow you to do just about anything, whatever the European country (so excluding... Great Britain), if a complete vaccination has been done and is not more than a few months old (the exact number depends on the country), subject to limitations on access to certain events (number of people allowed at cultural events, for example) depending on the situation at the time. Obviously, the situation is constantly evolving and it is to be hoped that after the Omicron wave we are currently experiencing, the pandemic will become an endemic disease and will allow us to live more or less normally again, taking a minimum of precautions.

Dear colleagues, We hope you are well and that you and your loved ones have come through the Covid pandemic without pain... While it is inevitable that some of us have probably been badly affected by the virus, we sincerely wish them all the best in recovering, both physically and morally, and living almost "normally" again. Now that the pandemic situation due to COVID is slowly improving and face-to-face activities are gradually resuming, we can look forward to the next ISAO in Brussels in 2022. The Organising Committee will be happy to welcoming you at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels from 20 to 24 September 2022. We are presently in contact with service providers and should be able to give you more information in the following weeks. Until then, take care!