IT Show among 3 exhibitions in March postponed because of coronavirus outbreak

With the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore firmly in code orange, some of the island’s biggest exhibitions due to take place soon have been postponed until further notice. 

The Business Times reported that the IT Show, Food & Beverage Fair and BuildTech Asia/Cargonow will not be taking place as scheduled in March. The organiser of the three events, Sphere Exhibits, confirmed that the delays were carried out to consider the safety and health concerns of exhibitors, partners and the public. 

The IT Show is, after all, the biggest tech exhibition in Singapore, occupying up to three levels of Suntec Singapore in a shopping gala for gizmo enthusiasts. Guess people can’t go panic hoarding survivalist gadgets now. 

A few exhibitors from China had already pulled out from the three events, Sphere Exhibits told BT, while local ones had been considering doing the same. The Singapore Airshow, taking place today till Sunday, already lost 70 trade exhibitors amid concerns of the viral outbreak. 

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Sphere Exhibits will announce new event dates as soon as the dates are locked in. 

The postponements are unfortunate, but are due to happen. Since raising the coronavirus risk assessment to DORSCON Orange (just below DORSCON Red, the highest level) last week, the Ministry of Health is advising event organisers to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale events. 

Should they choose to proceed, they are advised to take necessary precautions such as carrying out temperature screenings and have attendees declare travel histories, among other measures. 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore has reached 45, positioning the city-state as the third-most affected country in the world, right behind Japan’s 161 (including victims on a cruise ship) and China’s tally of 42,638. 

Gadget heads don’t have to get anxious though. There’ll be a litany of other similar tech sales like PC Show, Consumer Electronics Exhibition and more that’ll take place throughout the year anyway. 

ilyas@asiaone.com

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