AMD, P&G join others in opting out of CES event on Omicron fears

Micro-Star International

28/12/2021 23:18

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices  AMD.O ,
Micro-Star International Co  2377.TW  and Procter & Gamble Co
 PG.N  are the latest companies to withdraw from attending the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in person next month as Omicron
cases surge.
    The rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant has forced
individuals and companies across the United States to rethink
their travels plans as they look to lessen the risk of
contracting the virus.
    Airlines such as Delta Air Lines  DAL.N  and Alaska Air
Group  ALK.N  have canceled hundreds of flights, while the surge
in new infections has also threatened to derail a recovery in
the cruise industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2TD1UM urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2TD1PK
    CES, which serves as an annual showcase of new trends and
gadgets in the technology industry, is expected to have more
than 2,200 in-person exhibitors this year at Las Vegas. 
    The event, starting Jan. 5, will require all attendees to be
masked and vaccinated, and also offer COVID-19 tests, a
spokesperson for Consumer Technology Association, the event
organizer, said.
    "Our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in
the best interest of the health and safety of our employees,
partners, and communities," an spokesperson for chip designer
AMD said.
    Several others, including U.S. automaker General Motors Co
 GM.N , Alphabet Inc's  GOOGL.O  Google, Facebook parent Meta
Platforms Inc  FB.O , Twitter Inc  TWTR.N , Lenovo Group
 0992.HK , AT&T Inc  T.N  and Amazon.com Inc  AMZN.O  have
dropped their in-person attendance plans, saying they would not
send employees out of caution over the spread of Omicron. 
    The average number of new COVID-19 cases in the United
States has risen 55% to over 205,000 per day over the last seven
days, according to a Reuters tally. 

 (Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)
 ((Chavi.Mehta@thomsonreuters.com;))