The impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) across the globe has been unprecedented.
More and more events are getting cancelled, with one of the latest being Facebook’s developer conference, known as F8, scheduled for May.
The company is instead opting for a series of local events, videos, and live-streamed content.
Switzerland joined countries banning big events to try to curb the epidemic, forcing cancellation of this week’s Geneva international car show, one of the industry’s most important gatherings.
The first real jolt to the world about the wide reach of the virus was when last month the World Mobile Congress, a major trade show in Barcelona, Spain that attracts 100,000 participants, was cancelled after exhibitors began pulling out.
Facebook, Microsoft, and Sony have all pulled out of the Game Developers Conference, leaving that event without its main gaming platforms.
There are growing concerns about the economic impact of the global outbreak.
Stocks have tumbled for consecutive days.
World share markets crashed again last Friday, winding up their worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis and bringing the global wipeout to $6tn.
Hopes that the epidemic that started in China late last year would be over in months, and that economic activity would quickly return to normal, have been shattered as the number of international cases spiralled.
Microsoft said it was unlikely to meet its fiscal third-quarter guidance for its Windows and Surface hardware business unit because of hits to the electronics supply chain, echoing similar statements from Apple Inc and HP.
Facebook said it was expecting the outbreak to have some impact on production of its Oculus virtual reality headsets, which are produced in China.
A Facebook spokesman told Reuters the company has imposed temporary restrictions on business travel for its employees to mainland China, South Korea and Italy, where a significant number of cases have been reported.
Smaller companies are taking action too.
Santa Monica, California-based skin care products seller Beautycounter last week cancelled a three-day leadership development conference scheduled for San Francisco’s convention centre next week and will instead hold a one-day online gathering.
Microsoft plans to hold a digital-only event from March 16-18 in place of the Game Developers Conference.
Facebook earlier pulled out of the gaming conference and called off its 4,000-participant global marketing conference, also a San Francisco-based event.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported a coronavirus case of unknown origin in northern California, where some of the world’s biggest tech companies are based.
It is potentially the first incident of the virus spreading within US communities.
One of the next major events that developers are keeping an eye on is Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), usually held in June in San Jose, California, the same location as Facebook’s scrapped event.
WWDC attracts developers from across the globe.
Going by the way Covid-19 has spread, even the Tokyo Olympics slated for July this year has come under clouds of uncertainty, though the International Olympic Committee is encouraging athletes to continue training as normal.
A Chinese official called the epidemic the most difficult health crisis in the country’s modern history.
Another said some recovered patients had been found to be infectious, suggesting the epidemic may be even harder to eradicate than previously thought.
As World Health Organisation spokesman Christian Lindmeier said, the outbreak is getting bigger.
Tough times indeed.