Google I/O cancelled amid coronavirus fears
The Google I/O event has been called off amid growing concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Google announced Tuesday that it will no longer hold the I/O developer conference live at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and instead explore a digital format.
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"Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre," Google said in a statement.
Google said I/O 2020 ticket holders will receive a full refund by March 13.
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Coronavirus has significantly disrupted the technology industry's related annual events. GSMA's Mobile World Congress (MWC) was canceled due to coronavirus concerns, and DEF CON China was put on hold. The RSA security conference went on as planned, but over a dozen technology companies opted out of the event due to the virus.
Facebook has also cancelled its F8 developer conferece and postponed its BountyCon conference, and Google cancelled Google Cloud Next conference as a live conference and shifted to online events. Dozens of other technology companies have altered their event schedules or cancelled conferences all together.
Coronavirus -- formally known as COVID-19 -- is believed to have originated in Wuhan City, in Hubei province, China. Those infected with coronavirus are exhibiting pneumonia-like symptoms, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath.