CES 2022 is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 5-8. Each year, the biggest tech companies around the world gather to show off their latest innovations prior to commercial sale. However, this year, many of the titans of the industry are pulling out of attending due to the rapid from of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, including Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Twitter, and more.
In a report from Bloomberg, many companies have begun to reevaluate the viability and safety of attending CES 2022. Following the transition to an all-digital event this year due to COVID, CES 2022 was designed to be a return to in-person meets and gatherings.
However, some companies feel as though the rise in Omicron cases does not bode well for those attending the event. Twitter provided a statement to Bloomberg, outlining their rationality.
“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,” Twitter said in a statement. “We’ll continue to actively monitor the situation into the new year and find other opportunities to connect with our clients and partners.”
In a similar vein, Meta, the company formally known as Facebook, told Bloomberg, “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.”
Amazon has made a similar decision and has withdrawn itself from having a presence onsite during the event in the new year. Some companies, such as Nvidia will transition their presence to an all-digital format.
Other companies such as Sony, Google, Qualcomm and LG are still set to attend. However, with conditions changing each day, it appears as though many are monitoring the situation and making a reactive judgment call when deemed appropriate.
Currently, CES organizers have not made mention of the possibility of cancelling the event. CES 2022 is said to be organized with health protocols in mind including requiring all attendees to be fully vaccinated.
