In a bid to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Swiss government has banned large events with more than 1,000 people in attendance. AS a result, the upcoming 90th edition of the Geneva International Motor show scheduled for March 2-15 has been cancelled.
The decision was announced by Antonio Hodgers, head of Geneva’s regional government on Twitter. “In view of the current situation and the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Council has categorised the situation in Switzerland as ‘special’ in terms of the Epidemics Act,” the regional cabinet said on Friday.
“Large-scale events involving more than 1,000 people are to be banned. The ban comes into immediate effect and will apply at least until 15 March.”
The ban is also likely to affect the Basil Carnival, scheduled for March 2-5.
So far, Switzerland has eight confirmed cases, including one from a person who had travelled to Northern Italy, the hub of the outbreak in Europe. According to reports, the Geneva Motor Show was to feature the unveiling of the 2021 Audi A3, the 2021 Aston Martin Vantage, the new Bentley Bacalar, new EV designs by Hyundai, Polestar, a new Pagani hypercar, the 2021 Volkswagen Golf GTI and others.
The Geneva Motor Show is the latest large international conference to be cancelled on coronavirus fears, after the Mobile World Congress—the worlds biggest smartphone show and the Facebook F8 developer conference were both cancelled.
The shadow of the coronavirus looms over other large events scheduled for this year, including the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Dubai Expo 2020. Japan, which has spent up to $25.6 billion in preparation for the Olympics according to CBS News, has ruled out cancelling the event with chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga saying that they would prepare measures against the spread of the coronavirus and hold the Olympics as scheduled in July.
Meanwhile, the UAE has announced that it is prepared for the worst-case scenario concerning a coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. With 13 confirmed cases as of Friday, the UAE has announced that it has enough facilities to quarantine patients and will be putting under surveillance those who are entering the country. However, cancellations have already begun—the Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes has cancelled its annual One on One investment conference.
Up to 83,704 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed around the world as of Friday afternoon.
