Tag: Omicron Variant

Research Firm GfK Cancels CES In-Person Presentation

Citing “an abundance of caution” due to escalating coronavirus variant infections nationwide, technology research firm GfK North America Dec. 30 announced it would forego its scheduled in-person presentation at the CES Research Summit next week (Jan. 5-8) in Las Vegas.

Instead, GfK said it would share the same tech insights on “techno mobility” via an interactive “learning session” on Jan. 27. Interested parties can sign up for the GfK virtual session at this link.

The AP reports that new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to their highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average, a surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant.

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T-Mobile CEO Drops Out of CES Keynote Citing COVID Concerns

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert has dropped out as a keynote speaker at next month’s CES in Las Vegas, citing concerns over the growing coronavirus infections, including the Omicron variant. The telecom giant will continue as event sponsor.

“While we are confident that CES organizers are taking exhaustive measures to protect in-person attendees, and we had many preventative practices in place as well, we are prioritizing the safety of our team and other attendees with this decision,” T-Mobile said in a statement.

Other companies also dropping plans to attend include Amazon, iHeartRadio, Facebook parent Meta and Twitter.

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CES, which is slated for Jan. 5-8, was held virtually in 2020. The annual consumer electronics confab remains on schedule for in-person attendees, which reportedly include 2,100 exhibitors. Attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test 24 hours before attending.