CES has attracted more than 180,000 people from around the world in the past

Amazon Inc, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, and Pinterest Inc will not send teams to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as concerns grow about Omicron, the firms said on Tuesday.

CES, which serves as an annual showcase of new trends and gadgets in the technology industry has attracted more than 180,000 people from around the world to a sprawling array of casinos and convention spaces in the past.

Amazon and its smart-home unit Ring said they would not be onsite at next month’s event due to the ‘quickly shifting situation and uncertainty around the Omicron variant’ of coronavirus, the firm’s spokesperson told Reuters. Bloomberg News first reported that Amazon and Ring had decided against in-person presence at the show.

U.S. wireless carrier and conference sponsor T-Mobile also said the vast majority of its contingent would no longer be going and its chief executive would not deliver a keynote speech.

We are prioritizing the safety of our team and other attendees with this decision, T-Mobile said while expressing confidence that CES organizers were taking exhaustive protective measures, it said.

The other companies had not planned large in-person gatherings. The Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, said on Tuesday the show would run from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8. Health precautions would include vaccination requirements, masking, and the availability of COVID-19 tests, it added.

Twitter had planned to have some employees attend, to participate in panels. However, both Twitter and Facebook have said they are now exploring online opportunities. Pinterest, before cancelling, had planned a scaled-down meeting area for its sales and partner teams, compared to past years.