Google I/O is the latest tech event to be cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.
Google is following in the footsteps of Facebook, which cancelled its annual F8 event last week, and of the organisers behind the smartphone-centric Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona and the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco.
Google I/O, the developer conference where the company announces new features coming to its products, including Android, was slated for May 12-14 in Mountain View, California. A company spokesperson told CNBC that the in-person keynote and sessions have been cancelled, but that Google is exploring other ways to share the planned information with developers.
“Over the coming weeks, we will explore other ways to evolve Google I/O to best connect with and continue to build our developer community,” the spokesperson said. “We’ll continue to update the Google I/O website.”
Developers who have already purchased tickets will be refunded.
The rapid spread of COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus, has also prompted Google, Amazon, Twitter, and other tech giants to curtail employees’ international travel. Some have even gone so far as to encourage all workers to stay home.
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The next event to be cancelled could be SXSW, a tech, music, and film festival scheduled for March 13-22 in Austin, Texas. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pulled out of an interview at the event, and other companies have cancelled their brand activations as well.
It’s unclear whether the technology-focused events and developers conferences slated for later this year, including Microsoft’s Build, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, and E3, the gaming event of the year, will be cancelled as well.