LG pulls out of MWC due to coronavirus concerns
LG Electronics on Tuesday announced it has completely withdrawn from participating in MWC 2020, which runs from February 24 to 27 at Barcelona, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The decision prevents hundreds of LG employees from travelling internationally and was made in accordance to advice from health experts and for the safety of the general public, the company said.
To announce its upcoming line of phone products, LG said it will hold separate events in the near future instead.
The South Korean company added, however, that it would still proceed with any planned appointments with global telcos separately.
Prior to their cancellation, it was expected that LG would unveil its V60 ThinQ and G9 ThinQ smartphones at the tradeshow.
See also: Coronavirus deaths spike over 400, 11 confirmed US cases - Everything we know (CNET)
Separately, Chinese telecom and phone maker ZTE also reportedly announced that it has cancelled its press conference that was supposed to be held at MWC, citing visa delays. The company will still proceed with its booth exhibitions for now, however.
The announcement from LG comes only days after GSMA, the organisation that runs MWC, said that there had been no registration impacts on the tradeshow and that it would proceed as planned. Following the departure of LG on Wednesday, GSMA repeated its weekend statement.
Addressing the coronavirus outbreak, GSMA said it would carefully adhere to the World Health Organisation's recommendations as well as those from Chinese and Spanish health authorities by taking extra measures such as providing disinfection materials, medical staff, and guidance to exhibitors to prevent the spread of the virus.
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