Was CES in Las Vegas (Jan 2020) a "Super-Spreader" Event?
Photo by Nick Fewings
Last week, comments from American Public Media’s report “A Covid-infected attendee emerges from CES, a massive tech conference in January” included:
“Speculation has been whipping around social media for months that the virus might have incubated during CES and was sprayed worldwide when attendees traveled home. However, [Michael] Webber's disclosure of his test result to APM Reports [last week] is the first clear evidence that the virus was likely circulating at the conference.
“a doctor phoned Michael Webber on Monday with the results of his antibody test for the coronavirus ... He had tested positive, meaning that the 49-year-old who divides his time between Texas and France had been infected with the virus and recovered."
On January 18, Webber tweeted “I spent last week in Las Vegas w/ my boss at #CES2020 w/ 170k people including many from China & we got a weird respiratory cold that made us sick for a week so my paranoid self is convinced that I have this new killer virus."
NOTES
Michael Webber is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Although he became ill after attending CES, he tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies last week.
CES 2020, a consumer electronics show, took place in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 7-10 and had over 170,000 attendees from 160 countries including business representatives from Wuhan, China.
Speakers at CES included White House Advisor Ivanka Trump, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian, Quibi CEO Meg Whitman and Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Daimler AG Chairman Ola Källenius, Unilever CEO Alan Jope.
Separately, on April 21, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said, “Due to current safety concerns and the need for ongoing social distancing, I have made the difficult decision to keep school buildings closed for the duration of the Spring … This is in the best interest of our students, educators, staff, and communities. I want to thank our district and school employees, students, and families, for your efforts to continue teaching and learning under difficult circumstances.”
On April 22, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman shared various COVID-19 views including “We’re ready to get back in business."
OUR TAKE
Increased awareness of Webber's medical condition, and those of other attendees, will likely trigger more disclosures that connect CES with the spread of COVID-19.
The Nevada governor's approach to the current environment seems reasonable. The Las Vegas mayor's views, which trade groups have condemned, seem reckless.
Bottom line: 1) CES 2020 was likely a "Super Spreader" event, 2) CES in 2021 will likely be more virtual and 3) uncertainty will persist until testing, tracking, treatment and prevention improve.