Coronavirus outbreak: Vivo, Intel, Amdocs pull out of Mobile World Congress 2020

Chinese handset company Vivo, chipset maker Intel and some other global brands on Tuesday announced to have pulled out of international telecom sector event Mobile World Congress 2020 due to novel coronavirus outbreak.

Oppo, a sister concern of Vivo, after evaluation of the situation has said that it will participate in the event as per schedule. 

"Vivo has been closely monitoring the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) outbreak and continuously evaluating planned activities. The health and safety of our employees and the public are our top priority. Based on the present situation, we have decided to withdraw from our debut at MWC 2020 and other related events later this month in Barcelona, Spain," Vivo said in a statement.  

Electronic chipset Intel too announced to have pulled out of the event due to apprehensions around novel coronavirus.

"While we appreciate the precautionary measures put into place by the GSM Association, we believe the safest option is not to attend MWC 2020 in Barcelona," said Shuky Sheffer, president and chief executive officer, Amdocs -- software and services provider for communications sector. 

Last week, Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson had said it will not participate.

GSM Association, organiser of Mobile World Congress, said that the coronavirus issue has created disruption for attendees specially 5,000-6,000 attendees from China. However, the global telecom industry body maintained that the event will continue as per schedule with extra precautions and stringent screening mechanism.

"We are grateful for the preventative measures our Chinese exhibitors have put in place, notably ZTE and Huawei. Today, the GSMA is moving ahead as planned and will host MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020. While the GSMA confirms some large exhibitors have decided not to come to the show this year with others still contemplating next steps, we remain more than 2,800 exhibitors strong," GSMA said in reply to an email query.

Oppo said that it has been closely observing its development and impact of the virus since its outbreak.  "When GSMA announced the event will proceed as planned, Oppo, after comprehensive self-evaluation and preparation, has decided to participate MWC 2020 as scheduled and present our latest product and leading-edge technology during the event," Oppo said in a statement.