Xiaomi, realme cancel launch events amid coronavirus scare

Chinese smartphone companies Xiaomi and realme have cancelled their launch events scheduled for the next two weeks in the wake of coronavirus fears in the country.

With an Italian tourist in Jaipur testing positive for novel coranavirus, the total number of confirmed cases in India is now six.

While realme was scheduled to unveil its realme 6 series on March 5, Xiaomi was slated to launch Redmi Note series on March 12.

However, it is not clear whether Motorola - which is to launch its new flagship 'Motorola Razr' in India on March 16 - will go ahead with its launch event.

"We won't be holding any launch events on-ground through March. While we have been planning for this launch for months, we believe this is an unprecedented yet extremely important step," Xiaomi Vice President and India Managing Director Manu Jain said in a statement.

The company has taken this decision with "the objective of reducing exposure risk to coronavirus COVID-19 for our Mi fans, media friends, partners and Xiaomi employees".

Jain further said the company will not hold any launch events on ground in March and will provide update regarding future launches by the end of the month.

The launch event of the mid-premium Note series will now be only streamed online.

realme India CEO Madhav Sheth tweeted that the company is calling off its March 5 event.

"In light of current reports of #coronavirus impact & related advisory by health officials to maintain social distance as a precautionary measure, I'm calling off our biggest event. Will still give live speech in stadium with you watching #realme6series event online," he said.

Two private schools at Noida have cancelled classes for the next few days as a precautionary measure as the father of a student tested positive for coronavirus.

The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed over 3,100 people worldwide.

Last month, Mobile World Congress (MWC) - the biggest annual showcase for the telecom and technology industry held in Barcelona - was cancelled in view of the coronavirus outbreak whose epicentre was in China.

The virus outbreak - which has seen cases being registered across the world including South Korea, Iran, Italy and Japan - has had a significant impact on supply chains and manufacturing, given China is one of the biggest sources of components for products like electronics.