Santa Clara County Asks Apple, Google and Others to Cancel Large In-Person Meetings and Conferences

[MacRumors]

Santa Clara County, which includes cities like Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose, today issued new health guidelines (via The Verge) recommending that companies minimize or cancel "large in-person meetings and conferences."

The updated guidance comes as six new COVID-19 cases were found today, which means there are now at least 20 people in the county with known coronavirus infections.

Santa Clara County is hoping to reduce the spread of the virus in the Bay Area, and in addition to recommending against in-person conferences, has provided additional guidelines for employers:

• Suspend nonessential employee travel.
• Minimize the number of employees working within arm's length of one another, including minimizing or canceling large in-person meetings and conferences.
• Urge employees to stay home when they are sick and maximize flexibility in sick leave benefits.
• Not require a doctor's note for employees that are sick as healthcare offices may be very busy and unable to provide that documentation right away.
• Consider use of telecommuting options for appropriate employees.
• Consider staggering start and end times to reduce large numbers of people coming together at the same time.

While Santa Clara County recommends postponing or canceling mass gatherings and large community events, it says if there's no option to cancel, extra steps should be followed such as providing more physical space, encouraging sick people not to attend, frequent hand washing, and avoiding close contact with others.

Google and Facebook have already canceled annual developer events that were set to be held in Santa Clara County, with Facebook canceling F8 last week and Google canceling I/O earlier this week.

Santa Clara County has no specific dates included in its recommendations, and Apple has not yet made any announcements about WWDC, which is typically held in June at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.

Apple may still have some time before it makes a decision about whether to cancel WWDC this year because of the coronavirus, but with the county's recommendation and the fact that Google and Facebook have both canceled events, Apple may choose not to hold WWDC.

There were also rumors suggesting Apple would hold an event in March to announce new products like a low-cost iPhone, AirTags, and updated iPad Pro models, but that seems unlikely to happen at this point. Apple could hold an online only event or simply debut new products via press release.

Article Link: Santa Clara County Asks Apple, Google and Others to Cancel Large In-Person Meetings and Conferences

 

[farewelwilliams]

to apple and google employees: this is your time to show that working from home can be just as productive. don't screw this up.

 

[Geardo_Ranger]

Sooooooo, are we looking forward to a March online release of new products or an extra large and long WWDC with products? 😂

 

[AppleFan91]

Sooooooo, are we looking forward to a March online release of new products or an extra large and long WWDC with products? 😂

At this point, WWDC may be changed as well. Could be more of an online approach

 

[jclo]

At this point, WWDC may be changed as well. Could be more of an online approach

For the last few years, Apple has announced WWDC dates right around March 13ish, so we could hear by next week what's going to happen. A decision definitely has to be made soon, since Apple announces months in advance so people can prepare. The latest WWDC announcements have been in April.

 

[Hieveryone]

Companies need to do the right thing and play it safe. Profits are not worth people getting sick.

 

[AnnoyedCarrot]

But my iPad.. I need it now...

 

[Michael Rebar]

Apple will do the right thing and innovate WWDC to be a teleconference format and use the small stage at 1 Infinity Loop for keynote broadcast.
Shorter and more focused on the smaller developer.
It will be very zen. Steve would approve.

 

[Peace]

Apple is NOT exempt from this.

Re-schedule it.

 

[Freeangel1]

we need a vaccine and fast!
this is the only way out.
Vaccinations to prevent spread
the economy air travel and hospitals are going to be clobbered
even dogs can get this now and they are worried about spread thru paper money
even poop from an infected person.

 

[ksec]

The way things are spreading, it is highly likely America wont even see its worst in April or possibly even in May. Which would put the June WWDC in an difficult position.

May be they should do Online Conference only.

Then there is the implication of iPhone.

 

[The Barron]

we need a vaccine and fast!
this is the only way out.
Vaccinations to prevent spread
the economy air travel and hospitals are going to be clobbered

Vaccines don't just appear overnight as a certain somebody likes to speculate. This will take at least a year to develop; just be safe & practice sound health hygiene practices like the professional say.

 

[cmaier]

I’m sure Apple has already decided to do it entirely via streaming and on-line. They’re probably just trying to figure out how they’ll make the workshops work. They’ll fill the first 10 rows of the auditorium with employees who will applaud loudly, and have a small press gathering for hands-on.

 

[Will do good]

Stop all large gathering unless it's mega money making events like sports... think March madness. MLB, NBA etc... can't stop $$$ sports.

 

[Peace]

Stop all large gathering unless it's mega money making events like sports... think March madness. MLB, NBA etc... can't stop $$$ sports.

Sarcasm ?

Or a real view ?

 

[rp2011]

The county put it very well. Sounds sensible to me.

 

[alphaswift]

Profits are not worth people getting sick.

That's just adorable.

 

[ChromeCrescendo]

Teleconferences are the "safe sex" of the coronavirus era

 

[AnnoyedCarrot]

Nintendo has been streaming there for a few years. Works well for them and everyone else.

 

[Professor Rucy]

Companies need to do the right thing and play it safe. Profits are not worth people getting sick.

So sayes no one when mentally exhausted Apple employees commit suicide at Foxconn.

 

[cmaier]

So sayes no one when mentally exhausted Apple employees commit suicide at Foxconn.

You don’t understand mental illness, huh?

 

[Professor Rucy]

The county put it very well. Sounds sensible to me.

So when there is a botulism outbreak will the Council urge people to stop eating? Why not urge anyone from congregating anywhere where two or more strangers may come in contact?

The overreaction and panic is so silly right now. So far 0.01% the number of fatalities as H1N1 and there was no such hype. The Walking Dead are not the actual zombies.

 

[avkills]

Meeting services industry is taking a beating. I think this has been overblown to the max to tank the economy for political reasons. Where was this kind of panic for SARS, H1N1, Ebola....

The media needs to calm the hell down.

 

[omihek]

So sayes no one when mentally exhausted Apple employees commit suicide at Foxconn.

I mean let's just be honest and call them Foxconn employees. Would you say the designers at Apple work for you just because you're going to end up buying an iPhone? Are you responsible for making sure their working conditions are perfect? Best call Tim up and make sure he's treating your designers the right way, wouldn't you say?

 

[cmaier]

If this virus is coincidental, it couldn't have presented itself at a more ambiguous time. Is the President showing real leadership in an impending crisis? Or is the opposition party being grateful and politicizing the President as incompetent in an impending crisis? The media needs to report the news as it is instead of becoming the news with malicious intent. If this novel COV-19 really takes hold as a pandemic, perhaps, we should all calm down and support all efforts to contain and develop an anti-viral or vaccine to lessen its effects on humans.

It is already a pandemic.