Tech major Lenovo shuns 'CES 2022' in-person amid Omicron threat

Tech major Lenovo has joined a growing list of companies that have decided not to attend the 'CES 2022' in-person, as the Omicron variant spreads fast across the globe, especially in the US where more than 73 per cent cases now belong to the new Covid variant.

In a tweet, Lenovo said: "After closely monitoring the current trends surrounding COVID, it is in the best interest of the health and safety of our employees, customers, partners, and our communities to suspend all on-site activity in Las Vegas".

"While this is a change in plans, we are excited for you all to see our latest technology launching as scheduled on January 4 and January 5," the company posted late on Wednesday.

The world's biggest consumer electronics show 'CES 2022' appears to be falling apart as some of the major tech companies like Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Pinterest and T-Mobile have announced not to attend the event in-person.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, one of the CES 2022's featured speakers, has announced that his company won't be attending the world's largest electronics show next month.

In a statement, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which organises the CES event, said they will hold the event as planned.

"CES 2022 will be in person on January 5-8 in Las Vegas with strong safety measures in place, and our digital access is also available for people that don't wish to, or can't travel to Las Vegas. Our mission remains to convene the industry and give those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally," the association said in a statement.

"While we recently received 42 exhibitor cancellations (less than 7 per cent of our exhibit floor), since last Friday we've added 60 new exhibitors for our in person event," the CTA added.

The world's most influential tech event in Las Vegas is slated to showcase some first-time innovations around Blockchain-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs), remote health solutions, self-driving cars, gaming, food and space tech.

The annual event -- happening in the shadow of the fast-spreading Omicron Covid variant which is now present in more than 90 countries -- is likely to bring together more than 1,800 companies under one roof in the casino capital of the world.

--IANS

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