E3 ‘evaluating coronavirus situation daily’ amid state of emergency in California

E3 organiser the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has reiterated that it currently intends to go ahead with this year’s event, amid concern around the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus.

California (the state where E3 is held) declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, which will give the state more resources to prepare for a potential large-scale outbreak, following its first death from the virus.

According to the Los Angeles Times, COVID-19 has now been reported in 12 counties in California and has sickened more than 50 people.

In a new statement published on Wednesday, ESA said it “continues to plan for a safe and successful E3 show” in June and is “monitoring and evaluating the situation daily.”

It added: “Our E3 team and partners continue to monitor COVID-19 via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We are actively assessing the latest information and will continue to develop measures to further reduce health risks at the show.”

Earlier this week ESA said its planning for E3 2020 was “moving ahead full speed” amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“We will continue to be vigilant, as our first priority is the health, wellness and safety of all of our exhibitors and attendees,” it said.

“Given what we know at this time, we are moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning. Exhibit and registration sales are on track for an exciting show in June.”

It was recently announced that GDC 2020, which was scheduled to take place in San Francisco this month, has been postponed after many participants withdrew citing fears over the health of their employees.

E3 2020 participants announced so far include Xbox, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Sega, Capcom, Square Enix, Take-Two, Bandai Namco and Warner Bros Interactive.

Confirming an earlier VGC report, Sony said in January that PlayStation will not attend E3 for the second year in a row.

E3 Coliseum organiser Geoff Keighley has also said he won’t be attending E3 2020.