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Amazon, Nvidia, Sony Ditch MWC Over Coronavirus Fears

Date Of Publication:2020-02-16 Click-Through Rate:7

(LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)

The coronavirus outbreak has triggered Amazon, Nvidia, and Sony to withdraw from the upcoming Mobile World Congress show.

They join LG Electronics and networking vendor Ericsson, which also canceled their appearances from annual tech event, which usually attracts more than 100,000 attendees from across the globe.

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak is threatening to diminish the festivities, which are set take place from Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain. The risk of a coronavirus carrier entering the show’s venue and infecting other attendees is causing the major vendors to skip out.

“Given public health risks around the coronavirus, ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern,” Nvidia state in a statement on Friday. “We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision.”

On Sunday, Amazon told TechCrunch it was bailing as well, citing concerns about the coronavirus, which has sickened more than 40,500 people. And on Monday, Sony echoed the same sentiment. “As we place the utmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our customers, partners, media and employees, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw,” the Japanese vendor said.  Sony will instead hold its MWC event via the company's YouTube channel. 

Meanwhile, Chinese company TCL is taking a page from vendor ZTE and is only canceling its main press conference for MWC, but still attending the show. “This decision does not impact any other MWC 2020 activities planned by the company and TCL will still announce its latest mobile devices and showcase them at its (MWC) booth,” the company said.

Despite the cancellations, MWC’s organizer, the GSMA, still plans on holding the show. “While the GSMA confirm some large exhibitors have decided not to come to the show this year with others still contemplating next steps, we remain more than 2,800 exhibitors strong,” the association said on Sunday.

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To prevent the risk of contamination, the GSMA is banning travelers from China’s Hubei province—ground zero for the outbreak—from attending the show. All other travelers who have recently been to or live in China must demonstrate proof they’ve been outside the country for the past 14 days.

“The GSMA knows that the coronavirus has created disruption, in particular for exhibitors and attendees from around the world, including the 5-6,000 (5-6 percent) who have historically attended from China. Our sympathy goes to all those affected,” the association added.

Over 40,000 of the current coronavirus cases are based in China. However, the illness has spread to at least 24 other countries, with two reported cases in Spain, according to health officials.  

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