Meta, Amazon, Twitter, T-Mobile, Others Drop Out Of CES 2022 Due To COVID-19

Meta, Amazon, Twitter and T-Mobile habe announced that they're no longer attending next year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in person due to the threat brought about by the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Consumer Technology Association announced in April that the event will return as an in-person affair in 2022 different from the strictly online-only affair this year. While the organizer requires attendees to show proof of vaccination to be able to attend the expo, the Omicron variant's emergence prompted companies to reconsider their plans.

Amazon in a statement said that it will no longer have an on-site presence at the event “due to the quickly shifting situation and uncertainty around the Omicron variant," and its smart home subsidiary Ring will no longer be attending, as well.

Facebook parent company, Meta also said it won't be attending the expo in person anymore  but might participate in the event in a virtual capacity "due to the evolving public health concerns related to COVID-19."

Companies like Twitter, T-Mobile Pinterest and iHeartRadio has also said they will not be present at the event but they are exploring ways to virtually participate virtually.

"due to the spike in Covid cases across the country in the past week," Twitter said.

"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.