Around the world, a lot of events got cancelled due to the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 ranging from sports and academics to international conferences. With 119,120 confirmed cases of coronavirus globally, and more than 4,280 deaths as of March 11, a conference on coronaviruses got cancelled due to the coronavirus itself.
The NIDO2020, an international symposium on nidoviruses (a class of viruses including coronaviruses) with major discussion on coronaviruses got postponed to 2021. This meet happens every 3 years, which was set to be held in May in the Netherlands. The scheduled symposium was the 15th annual event.
The conference planning committee lead Marjolein Kikkert, a microbiologist at the Leiden University Medical Center said in an email to Quarts that people had hesitation to register due to the uncertain conditions due to coronavirus outbreak, taking responsibility by setting "the good example as coronavirologists to not further spread the virus ourselves," he added.
Those who attend the symposium would present research and find collaborative opportunities to take it further. They reportedly are thinking of an online one too, in order to exchange as much information on the novel coronavirus, but global time differences and schedules pose a challenge. However, the organizers have not announced the postponement of the symposium on their website yet.
Other cancellations
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society cancelled its physical conference for the first time in 58 years. The global health conference which was scheduled Orlando in which Trump was a speaker did not get cancelled. Instead, the organisers said in its release that they are "planning a special digital edition of the 2020 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition. Our goal is to make all of the sessions and panels from HIMSS20 available online." adding to that "For those already registered for HIMSS20, you will have access to HIMSS20 Digital and, as is our policy, you will be automatically registered for HIMSS21 in Las Vegas!" the release said.
The Formula One Grand Prix scheduled in Bahrain is closed to spectators, while Chinese Grand Prix got postponed. Soccer games would witness empty stadiums without the presence of an audience in Spain and Portugal, according to officials. FIFA said it would postpone the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar among other sports cancellations.
Ireland's government cancelled all St Patrick's Day parades. Prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe asked organizers of sports and cultural events to cancel or postpone them, Japan's annual azalea festival and Tokyo's Nakameguro district cancelled its Cherry Blossom Festival.
Google too, cancelled its I/O developer's event in California. The New York International Auto Show scheduled for April got postponed too. Facebook cancelled its F8 developers' conference while retaining 'online elements', would host local events instead. The annual convention of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, would be held virtually.
Academic
New York University, the University of Florida, Ohio State University, Columbia University, Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology among others announced that they would move to online instruction. Harvard asked all UG students to move out of their dormitories and would conduct all classes online through the spring semester.
While Oxford University said in its online update "Two University students have tested positive for coronavirus. Public Health England have advised us that the risk to other students and staff is very low and that university and college activities can continue as normal". It is the same as the Cambridge University. Fashion weeks in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo, were postponed too.
