• Effects: Ericsson will not attend the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the coronavirus
  • Health: The infection in the family of the second case of coronavirus detected in Spain is not ruled out

Fear of the effects of coronavirus go beyond health and continue to hit economic activity. Even the big corporations are not immune to the fears of contagion and the last sample impacts directly in Spain, after the Amazon technology giant announced yesterday that it will not attend the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to be held from February 24 to 27 in Barcelona before the global health alert for the coronavirus.

"Due to the outbreak and continuing concerns about the new coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in the Mobile World Congress 2020, scheduled from February 24 to 27 in Barcelona," a company spokeswoman told Efe. The same source did not offer more details about the process that has led Amazon, based in Seattle (USA), to make that decision.

This is the biggest blow that the meeting has received so far, one of the most important worldwide in the telecommunications sector. But not the only one. In the last week, the South Korean company LG, the Swedish Ericsson and the giant of graphic processors Nvidia, have also announced that they will not be in the big date of Barcelona.

The GSMA , the organizing body of the MWC, lamented on Friday the decision of these companies not to participate in the 2020 edition and admitted that their absence will have an impact on this year's call, although he recalled that the call "will continue as planned."

However, it will prohibit access to the fair for travelers from the Chinese province of Hubei and all those arriving from the Asian country must show that they have been away 14 days before, while temperature controls will be carried out.

For its part, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau , called "tranquility" in an interview last Friday, in which she reiterated that the MWC can be held "with total normality" despite the coronavirus. "Hopefully there are no more ads like these [at that time only those of LG and Ericsson were known]. I know that all the necessary measures are being taken," said the mayor.

It is expected that around 110,000 professionals from the telecommunications sector will come to the Mobile and, according to the percentages of previous editions, at least 6,500 would come from China, where this epidemic is currently more active. In the absence of the American Apple , which concentrates its presentations in its own California headquarters, Chinese companies are essential in the appointment of Barcelona, ​​especially for its activity in Europe. Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo are among the giants of the sector that star in this annual global meeting.

Pneumonia originating in Wuhan (China), caused by a type of coronavirus that emerged in that city last December, has already left at least 813 dead and 37,198 cases only in mainland China, according to figures published Sunday by the National Commission of Health of the Asian country.

In Spain, two cases of coronavirus have been confirmed: one of them from a British citizen who is admitted to a hospital in Palma de Mallorca, and the other is a German tourist who remains admitted to the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands).

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