Here we go again: is this our new normal?
Abstract
As I write this piece, we are in the throes of working through the logistical consequences of cancelling the 2021 Biennial South African Arthroplasty Society (SAAS) Conference. In May last year, even as the first wave of Covid-19 engulfed South Africa, we were confident of holding a successful congress in 2021. September came, Covid-19 cases receded, elective surgery resumed, and our lives started to take on a semblance of normality. This state of affairs lulled us into believing that we were on track to a relatively Covid-19-free 2021. The 2021 conference would be one way of reclaiming normality in our orthopaedic lives. However, we have now had to make the painful but inevitable decision to postpone the SAAS conference to 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to be the chief disruptor in our lives for the second year running.