Amazon cancels its Mobile World Congress plan over coronavirus fears

Another tech giant is taking a pass on Barcelona.

Amazon joins a growing list of companies no longer  attending the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which runs in Barcelona from Feb. 24-27. The departing companies, Amazon included, cite concerns over the coronavirus, according to Reuters. 

This is only the latest pull-out in recent days, with a list that includes telecommunications company Ericsson, tech mammoth LG, and computer graphics hardware designer Nvidia. They’ve all dropped out of  MWC because of the virus. As of Friday, Samsung is still planning to attend but says it will send fewer executives to the conference, according to CNET.  

MWC is the largest mobile event globally, showcasing big innovations in the mobile tech space. So it’s a telling sign that the coronavirus has scared off some of the biggest companies in that field from attending the event. 

The coronavirus has killed more than 800 people in China and infected 37,198, according to the New York Times. The first U.S. citizen in China’s Wuhan province, where the virus originated, has also died. 

On Sunday, the GSMA (the MWC’s organizer) issued a statement on its website acknowledging the toll the coronavirus is taking on the event and listed measures it plans to implement to protect the health and safety of MWC’s attendees.