The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a globally renowned event for video games, technology, and computers, will not be held in person this year amid fears around COVID–19, its operator said on Thursday.

The development adds to a list of many showpiece events being wrapped up early or getting canceled or postponed for in-person gatherings amid a surge in U.S. cases, with the latest ones being technology and gadget show CES, the Grammy Awards, and the Sundance Film Festival. .

“Due to the ongoing health risks surrounding COVID–19 and its potential impact on the safety of exhibitors and attendees, E3 will not be held in person in 2022,” the E3 operator Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said in a statement.

The rolling seven-day average of new COVID–19 cases in the U.S. hit 540,000 earlier this week along with a surge in hospitalizations, days after the country reported a record one million infections in 24 hours. – Reuters

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