By Jondi Gumz
Local tourism, tech and manufacturing have been hit by the coronavirus.
Frank Yohannan, president and CEO of the Sea Otter Classic, which brings 74,000 people to watch 9,000 athletes compete at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, announced March 5 that the April event will be rescheduled. New dates are expected in a week.
He cited the coronavirus threat for the decision.
In Scotts Valley, 1440 Multiversity, the learning destination with leadership programs and renowned faculty that can accommodate 377 people overnight, has gotten group cancellations.
Google, which has an office in Santa Cruz since acquiring Looker, cancelled its biggest conference, which would have brought 5,000 people to San Francisco’s Moscone Center in May.
SXSW, a 10-day music, film and media event that brought 280,000 people to Austin, Texas, last year, resulting in a $350 million economic impact, has been cancelled. Santa Cruz startup SellHound had been invited to pitch, one of only eight companies selected.
Adobe cancelled its annual digital summit in Las Vegas at the end of March, saying it would offer an online-only experience. Last year, 16,000 attended.
“There’s a standstill because of the coronavirus,” said Martin Hoellrigl, a chef in Capitola who offers team-building cooking events for corporate groups and families.
Scotts Valley resident Dick McCartney, CEO of Pixel Scientific, which manufactures custom LCD signs for aircraft, gaming machines and concept cars, said he hasn’t been able to get the production he needs from China.
He’s active in the Society for Information Display conference, which last year brought 7,000 people to San Jose. This year’s conference is slated for June at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.
Because of the coronavirus, “I expect real fallout,” he said. “I don’t think we have it contained.”
He said conferences in Europe “are cancelling left and right – we’re probably one month away from that.”
Doug Erickson, executive director of Santa Cruz Works and founder of the Santa Cruz New Tech MeetUp, said attendance at the March meetup was down due to worries about coronavirus.
He said he was anticipating seeing a friend from Singapore coming to San Francisco to attend a conference and receive an industry award, but the conference has been cancelled.
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For general information on COVID-19 call 211, or text coronavirus to 211211, or visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus for updates and links to state and federal guidance.
Here are some more information sources:
Health Professionals: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- nCoV/hcp/index.html
Schools and Communities: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/community/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.go v%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fpreparing-individuals-communities.html
Higher Risk: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/index.html
California Department of Public Health: www.cdph.ca.gov