Coronavirus Outbreak: IBM Pulls Out From RSA Conference In San Francisco Citing Health Concerns

IBM took to Twitter to announce that it will not send its representatives to the RSA Conference 2020 due to the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

“The health of IBMers is our primary concern as we continue to monitor upcoming events and travel relative to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are cancelling our participation in this year's RSA conference,” IBM Security tweeted.

Despite the widespread fear about coronavirus, the RSA Conference is not canceled, an official update from the organizers confirmed. The organizers also acknowledged IBM’s decision to not participate this year.

“We learned today that IBM has made the decision to no longer participate in RSA Conference 2020 as a Platinum Sponsor. We understand and respect their decision. RSA Conference is still planning to proceed as scheduled,” the statement said.

The total number of exhibitors or sponsors to back out of the event is eight. Six of the participants are from China, one is from Canada and one from the U.S.

Meanwhile, the RSA website also stated the precautions they will take during the conference. They are assuring that the volunteers would be disinfecting the registration counters and floors on a regular basis throughout the day. Moreover, the shuttle buses will be equipped with hand sanitizer pumps and the armrests will be wiped four times per day.

The website also stated that close to 82 percent of their current registered participants are from the U.S.

Various other tech companies are also canceling their events. Recently, Facebook canceled its annual Global Marketing Summit keeping in mind the health of the participants. The MWC is also called off this year, which was slated to happen in Barcelona, Spain.

Coronavirus has hit many big and small businesses and events across the globe. Talking about the virus, it has claimed 143 additional lives in China with 2641 new positive cases. The U.S. State Department plans to evacuate its citizen and their family members who are onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship near Japan. The ship has been quarantined for close to two weeks.