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Two more tech giants, Apple and Netflix, have announced they will be canceling their plans for the upcoming SXSW event which is scheduled to take place March 13-22 in Austin, Texas. The two companies are skipping the event over ongoing coronavirus concerns.
Apple announced its decision on Wednesday afternoon, while Netflix made the announcement on Thursday morning, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix had planned to screen five films at the festival and was going to have a number of panels scheduled for March 15.
The Hollywood Reporter adds:
The tech giant’s video group has also cancelled its activities at the event, sources close to the company tell THR, forgoing several premieres that were scheduled for the event, including the Spike Jonze feature Beastie Boys Story and the series Central Park and Home. Apple was also set to screen Boys State, which it acquired out of Sundance with partner A24. A conversation with Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon about their Apple series, Little America, has also been canceled.
Twitter, Facebook and Amazon Studios have previously announced that they will not be attending the event.
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The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in China, it has now reached many countries around the world including the United States. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
