Seattle — Technology companies like Amazon, Twitter, Meta, Google, Pinterest, T-Mobile, Lenovo, AT&T and TikTok are reducing their presence at the upcoming CES 2022 (the Consumer Electronics Show) due to rising Covid-19 cases.
CES is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas during the first week of January. With the emergence of the highly infectious Omicron variant, which is now the dominant strain in the U.S., cases are seeing an upswing again in the country.
Amazon, which includes security powerhouse Ring, said in a statement, "due to the quickly shifting situation and uncertainty around the Omicron variant, we will no longer have an on-site presence at CES."
Amazon and Ring already offered a preview of its new smart home and security innovations in September, when it unveiled Ring Alarm Pro, a new commercial offering, an autonomous home security drone, and more. Read our full coverage here.
T-Mobile said on last week that chief executive Mike Sievert will no longer deliver a keynote presentation either in person or virtually and the company will tone down, to a large extent, its physical presence at the show. Meta and Twitter had also issued statements that they would not attend the show in person.
On Wednesday last week, TikTok and AT&T followed, with TikTok stating that it will only attend the event online. On Thursday, Lenovo announced the cancellation of its on-site CES plans as well. "Lenovo as a company has decided to withdraw in-person activities in Las Vegas for CES 2022," the company announced.
Even though T-Mobile will continue to remain a sponsor of the event, most of its team will not be there at Vegas. The company said in a statement, "T-Mobile's entire team looks forward to an in-person CES 2023, which we hope includes an on-stage keynote in front of a live audience.
"TikTok was concerned about the uptick in Covid cases in the US as the Omicron variant spreads. "In light of the increase in positive Covid-19 cases across the country," the company said in a statement, "TikTok has decided to host a virtual TikTok CES experience for our brands and partners."
A Nvidia spokesperson said the company has been "cautious from the start" and is set to deliver a virtual address on January 4.
A Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters: "After careful consideration we have decided to withhold from having a presence on the show floor of CES 2022," adding that Google would continue to "identify and support virtual opportunities."
In its statement, Twitter said that it holds "the safety and health of our people and our partners as our No 1 priority. With that in mind, due to the spike in Covid cases across the country in the past week, we've decided to cancel our in-person presence at CES next month."
Meta said it will participate in the event virtually, but that, "out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees, we won't be attending CES in-person due to the evolving public health concerns related to Covid-19."
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
