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LG And ZTE To Cancel MWC Participation Amid Coronavirus Threat

MWC 2020

The world-leading Electronics Company LG and ZTE have canceled their plans to participate in the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2020) a world-renowned Mobile Technology event scheduled to take place on February 24.

The company has announced the decision officially and said, “LG Electronics is closely monitoring the situation related to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which was recently declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization as the virus continues to spread outside China. With the safety of its employees, partners, and customers foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain. This decision removes the risk of exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel which has already become more restrictive as the virus continues to spread across borders. In lieu of its participation in MWC, LG will be holding separate events in the near future to announce its 2020 mobile products. LG Electronics thanks its supporters and the public for their understanding during these difficult and challenging times.”

The Chinese mobile company has taken a similar decision as told by Verge to avoid participation in the event in order to minimize the risks associated with international travel and exposing its employees to the possible threat. The company has also canceled its press conference due to travel and visa delays.

MWC 2020 organizers also made a statement about the concern and said, “The organization is continuously monitoring and evaluating the possible impact of the coronavirus on the event MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Shanghai, and Los Angeles and as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences. The GSMA confirms that there would be likely to have minimal impact on the event so far.”

The organizers of MWC 2020 are making a bold statement though, keeping in mind that coronavirus is a serious threat as acknowledged by World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 24,551 confirmed cases reported at the time of writing and 493 deaths recorded around the world and majority of them are in China. Despite the dangers associated with the event, MWC organizers are planning to launch the event as scheduled, from February 24 to 27 in Barcelona, GSMA previously announced to take strict measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, several protocols have been chalked out e.g. no handshake policy, onsite medical support, regular cleaning of areas that are touchable, etc.