Feb. 17 — SCA20 has been canceled due to health concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus.
A notice on the conference website reads:
We regret to inform you that we will be cancelling the coming SupercomputingAsia Conference 2020 (SCA20), which was being scheduled for 24-27 February 2020 in Singapore. It was a difficult decision to make but one which we had weighed carefully.
Since Singapore’s DORSCON Orange notification, which was announced on 7 February 2020, we had been implementing the necessary measures to ensure that SCA20 could proceed in accordance with the Singapore Ministry of Health’s recommendations such as temperature screening, travel declarations to mainland China, increased vigilance for unwell individuals and increased hygiene measures, among others. Rest assured that the safety and wellbeing of our participants have always been of paramount importance.
SCA20 was on course to be our biggest conference yet
The SCA20 was on course to be our biggest, and most supported, conference to date. We had more Exhibitors signed up, exciting new tracks and sessions as well as a line-up of excellent speakers. The attendance for the Opening day alone was more than 500 at last count. Our decision to proceed with the SCA20 conference then had been guided by the data, information and updates that we had on hand. The majority of our key Speakers, major Sponsors and Exhibitors were continuing preparations for their presentations and booths at the conference. Registration numbers continued to rise.
New developments and the unpredictability of COVID-19
However, in the past few days, we have received your concerns and communications from some of our key partners, sponsors and keynote speakers citing advisories from their home countries to avoid non-essential travel to Singapore. This has resulted in a number of withdrawals – a decision that we understand and fully respect. We are aware and hear your other concerns as well. These concerns, together with the withdrawals and the unpredictable COVID-19 situation, makes running the SCA20 conference untenable.
For more information, visit: https://www.sc-asia.org/sca20-cancellation-covid-19/
Source: SCA19