The ongoing outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus has caused the city of Los Angeles to declare a state of emergency.
That is also the city where, every June, the Electonic Arts and Entertainment Expo, also known as E3, takes place.
At one time, E3 was where most of the biggest announcements in the gaming world were revealed. In recent years, its reach and impact on the industry has diminished, with Sony and several other large developers sitting the event out.
This year’s show, scheduled for June 9-11, is reportedly still going on as scheduled, despite the city-wide emergency concerning the global pandemic.
This was reiterated in a statement released recently by the show’s organizers.
“The health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, partners, and staff is our top priority,” The Entertainment Software Association said in the statement. “While the ESA continues to plan for a safe and successful E3 show (on) June 9-11, 2020—we are monitoring and evaluating the situation daily.”
Apparently, the ESA will be making an increased effort to reduce health risks throughout the event. They outlined their plans in another statement, laying out some health and safety tips for attendees.
The ESA said that all attendees should periodically wash their hands for at least 20 seconds and avoid contact with people known to be sick. It also suggested avoiding handshakes and cheek-kissing as greetings, saying that attendees should fist bump or touch elbows instead.
Additional hand-sanitizing stations will also be available throughout the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is the site of E3 every year. There was also a vague promise to “enhance” the center’s ability to help people who become ill.
There are currently 51 cases of coronavirus within the state of California, which has been causing mass panic throughout the US.
Since E3 is a global show, inviting executives, developers, and media representatives from all over the world, it remains to be seen which companies will actually make the trip. Reportedly, a number of major companies have been prohibiting their developers from traveling.
Of course, the big event at this year’s E3 will be the Microsoft conference. The company has already announced that it will be doing a huge reveal of its new console, the Xbox Series X while showing more of Halo Infinite.
PlayStation will not be attending this year, but that has nothing to do with the coronavirus outbreak. The company had no E3 conference last year and had already announced long before the global pandemic broke out that it would not be coming again this year. Nintendo has not had an E3 presence for several years.
