Coronavirus outbreak: LG, ZTE pull out of MWC 2020

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 is scheduled to take place in Barcelona between February 24 and February. Ahead of the tech fest both LG and ZTE have decided to withdraw from the show.

LG Electronics in a statement on Tuesday said that it had decided to withdraw from participating in the MWC in Barcelona, Spain, due to concerns over the recent Coronavirus outbreak. The company said that the decision had been taken to "prevent needlessly exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel, which most health experts have advised."

LG said that it will reveal its smartphone lineup for the year 2020 in separate events in the near future.

Prior to its decision of pulling out, LG was expected to reveal the LG V60 ThinQ with a secondary display, along with the LG G9 ThinQ at the upcoming tech show.

Apart from LG, ZTE has also decided to pull out of the show. The company in a statement to The Verge cited visa delays as the reason for its decision. "[We] tend to be an overly courteous company, and simply don't want to make people uncomfortable," a company spokesperson told the publication.

GSM Association, the organisation that organises MWC every year, has said that it is monitoring the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak and that the upcoming event in Barcelona, Spain will proceed as planned. "MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020, will proceed as planned, across all venues at Fira Gran Via Fira Montjuïc and La Farga L'Hospitalet, including YoMo and Four Years From Now (4YFN)," the association said in a statement.

The organisation also said that it was "taking strong measures to contain and lessen any further spread of the virus." "These measures include adhering to advice from the WHO and other health authorities, respecting travel restrictions where they exist, arriving early in Spain to allow time for self-quarantine and ensuring access to masks," GSM Association added in its statement.

(With Reuters Inputs)