Amazon Studios will not be going to the South by Southwest conference due to concerns over the coronavirus, Variety is reporting.
The event, known as SXSW, is a music film, and technology conference held in Austin, Texas, each year. SXSW is scheduled to run from March 13-22. Eleven cases of coronavirus have already been confirmed in Texas, Variety noted.
Amazon Studios has canceled two screenings and panels planned for “Tales of the Loop,” a science fiction drama and “Upload,” a science fiction comedy.
Amid fears of the virus, Facebook and Twitter also have both pulled out of the conference, according to Yahoo news.
“We will no longer be participating in SXSW this year out of an abundance of caution related to the health risks presented by coronavirus,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Twitter has instituted a ban on all “non-critical” travel and events.
“As a global company with a global workforce, we want to do what we can to help the success of these multi-stakeholder containment efforts,” the company said in a blog post.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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