A number of events cancelled due to Covid-19

On Wednesday, the GSMA announced that it is officially cancelling Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC), the world's largest mobile trade show, which was supposed to take place on February 24-27 in Barcelona.

Tech giants such as Facebook, LG, Amazon, Nokia, and Sony among others declined to participate in this year's event, concerning complicated development of the COVID-19.

This was the first time in its 33-year history that the event was cancelled. On the same day, Renault's Formula One team announced to cancel the Chinese Grand Prix, scheduled for April 19 at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The decision was made as a result of continued health concerns and with the World Health Organisation, declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency.

The team's managing director said that although the cancellation was "sad news", he welcomed the early announcement, allowing participants to cancel sending freight to the venue for the race, which was due in the coming weeks.