Despite Coronavirus Fears Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con Will Go On

The Seattle-based Emerald City Comic Con will proceed as planned, despite multiple confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region. In the wake of the outbreak of the virus, organizers have cancelled or postponed several major gaming events, including San Francisco's GDC, which prompted the statement.

The event is scheduled to take place from March 12 to 15. According to organizer ReedPOP, the team behind the event have "implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitation across the show, including adhering to the recommendations set forth in the US EPA's Emerging Pathogen Policy."

Coronavirus fears have the potential to severely disrupt events across the games industry, especially for important industry conventions like GDC and E3. So far, the 96 confirmed cases of the virus in the United States have been clustered on the West Coast, especially San Francisco and Seattle, two of the traditional hubs of the gaming industry.