Google, Facebook Cancel Conferences Amid Coronavirus Fears

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Silicon Valley tech companies including Google and Facebook have canceled upcoming conferences due to concerns about the coronavirus, which is spreading in the Bay Area.

Google on Monday told attendees it will cancel its I/O developer conference, which was set for May at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, where the tech giant is based.

The decision to cancel was made "due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities," the company said, according to TechCrunch.

The company didn't say whether the conference will instead be held remotely, or not at all.

Meanwhile, Menlo Park-based Facebook canceled its annual developer conference last week, citing the same concerns about COVID-19. The conference, scheduled for May, will be replaced by "locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content," The Verge reported.

Many tech companies have taken other steps to curb the virus's spread, including limiting their employees' travel and asking them to work from home.

Confirmed cases of the COVID-19 — the disease caused by the coronavirus — have been growing in the region. Santa Clara County has reported a total of nine cases as of Tuesday, and San Mateo County has confirmed two.

So far, all U.S. deaths from the disease have been confirmed in Washington state, where an outbreak is growing in the Seattle area.

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