The impact and spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, leading to many events getting cancelled, the latest being the cancellation of 2020 Retailer Summit by Diamond Comic Distributors. The event had been scheduled to take place 14 to 16 April in conjunction with MegaCon in Orlando, Florida.
In a press release, Diamond says, “We do this out of an abundance of caution and with deep disappointment. We will continue to assess the viral outbreak to plan a new conference date. Our top priority is the health and safety of our staff, business partners, conference attendees and colleagues. We appreciate the efforts of the Informa team and the state and local authorities they are working with to provide a safe environment for fans and vendors, and support their goal of another fun, successful convention. MegaCon Orlando is part of an international organization with dedicated health, safety, security and travel experts who are monitoring developments, sharing relevant information and providing guidance on events. At this time, we cannot ask our sponsors and retailers to commit to travel plans while the Coronavirus’ impact is so uncertain.
“We recognize the importance of the Retailer Summit. We thank you for your support and commitment to the Summit. We will continue to monitor this situation and look forward to the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our industry partners in the future. In the coming months, we will provide further updates as we determine our possible attendance at other events. Know that we value your business and take these measures to ensure we can provide our business partners with the services they need.”
Disney World is also placing extra sanitizing stations around the park the help fend off the spread of the disease. Other Florida parks including Universal Studios and SeaWorld are also monitoring the situation. Legoland has restricted employee travel to high-risk countries and implemented “enhanced cleaning regimes” at the Winter Haven park.