The coronavirus, which began in Wuhan, China, two months ago, causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19. Globally, the general public has been advised to avoid heavily populated crowds which is leading to the cancelation of festivals, events, and jobs. Cases have been recorded in 70 countries, including more than 100 in the US. More than 100,000 people have been infected, and more than 3,000 people have died from the virus. Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced in a news conference, “After consultation with the city manager, I’ve gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city,” adding that the order effectively cancels South by Southwest (SXSW) for this year.
Before the event’s cancellation, more than 35,000 people signed a petition urging the organizers to call off SXSW because of coronavirus fears. Prominent companies had pulled out of the tech and culture events in recent days including- Facebook, Twitter, Intel, Netflix, BMI, Apple, and TikTok.
This festival brings in an estimated $350 million to Austin each year and canceling the festival represents a big blow to Austin’s local economy this year. Within this abrupt cancellation, it was not made clear if people or companies who bought tickets to the event would be issued refunds. Yet, there are rumors that the event will be rescheduled, as well as providing an online alternative.
Other than the cancellation of SXSW, the coronavirus outbreak has caused major disruption around the world, hampering business supply chains and causing the closures of offices and other public events including – The major tech-industry conference Mobile World Congress was called off, the Game Developers Conference was postponed, Facebook canceled its F8 conference and its marketing summit, and Google canceled I/O, its yearly gathering for developers.
