COVID-19 | Major business lays off staff as illness impacts trade

Earlier this month, the annual tech, music and film meetup, SXSW, was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, just a week before it was scheduled to start.

The Verge reported that this is the first time that the Austin-based event has been cancelled in its 34-year stint which was largely due to growing public health concerns and increasing numbers of speaker and company drop-outs.