ONE of the world’s biggest tech events could be cancelled this week because of the threat posed by the outbreak of coronavirus.
Organisers of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona will meet on Friday to decide whether this year’s event – from February 24 to 27 – will go ahead after a number of multinational companies announced they were pulling out.
They include online retailer Amazon, Sony, LG Electronics, Ericsson, Intel, Vivo and US chipmaker Nvidia.
Their decisions came as the death toll from coronavirus in mainland China passed the 1000 mark. Health authorities said yesterday that the daily number of deaths from the virus had also topped 100 for the first time as the contagion continues to spread.
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“Due to the outbreak and continued concerns about the novel coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020,” the company said in a statement.
Vivo said they have closely followed the spread of the virus, but the health of its staff and the public were its top priority. It added: “Therefore, based on the current situation, we have decided to cancel our presentation at MWC 2020 and other related events later this month in Barcelona, Spain.”
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Sony said that after monitoring the outbreak, it had finally decided to pull out, citing the “security and welfare of customers, partners, media and workers”.
Smart phone and watch manufacturer Umidigi was the first Chinese firm to cancel its attendance at MWC, saying in a tweet: “At Umidigi we prefer to keep our employees working on a safe and quarantine environment, to respect all the other people around our world.”
Despite the wave of withdrawals, event organisers GSMA said they were not planning to cancel the event, adding that access would be prohibited for travellers from the Chinese province of Hubei.
Those arriving from China must also show that they have been out of the country for two weeks.
GSMA said it would continue to monitor developments and adapt its plans in line with any recommendations made to it.
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