The world’s largest phone show, Mobile World Congress, continues with a personal meeting in June, despite the risks that it could become a COVID-19 superspreader event.
More than 100,000 people typically attend MWC. John Hoffman, CEO of the GSM association (which organizes the show), says the numbers will be scaled back this year. He told Mobile World Live that he expects about 50,000 people to travel to Barcelona, communicate with each other and locals and then fly home again.
The safety and security page of the event says that organizers will control the crowd’s density and need masks. Hoffman said he would not expect everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “We think it would be great if the world were vaccinated, but we can not rely on it in 2021,” he said. Mobile World Live.
Instead, the group calls for everyone present to take a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their arrival. Tests are not sufficient to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially if tests are done so far in advance. Someone can easily test negative, catch the virus on the way to MWC and spread the disease when they arrive. XPrize founder Peter Diamandis relied on the test of holding a personal conference with less than 100 people in California in January – but there was no requirement for quarantine and the wearing of a mask was not applied. Dozens of people were subsequently tested positive for the virus.
Large meetings and events, especially when it comes to international travel, can be breeding grounds for coronavirus infections. Hundreds of thousands of cases of COVID-19, for example, were linked to a biotechnology conference in Boston at the beginning of the pandemic. If you hold a big event, not only the participants are endangered, but also the people who live in the region where the event takes place.
The GSM association fought against the cancellation of its 2020 show, which was to take place last February just when COVID-19 emerged as a global problem. It needed big brands like LG, ZTE, Sony and Amazon to close the group.
COVID-19 is still a major threat worldwide. Spain is currently averaging about 12,000 new cases and 400 deaths per day. Although the situation may improve by June, people around the world will still be vulnerable to the disease. Vaccination of vaccines in Spain is slow, with only about 65,000 doses per day. Most of the population will still not be vaccinated, but summer as the pace continues.