(Reuters) – The organizer of CES, the world’s largest technology show, said on Thursday it was unable to confirm the number of COVID-19 cases from its in-person event in Las Vegas last week after South Korean authorities said about 70 attendees from the country tested positive for the virus.
The 70 South Korean nationals included representatives from Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK Hynix, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Of the 40,000 that attended CES, 30% traveled from outside the United States.
The show, which took place both online and offline between Jan. 5 and Jan.7, had gone ahead despite major companies including General Motors and Amazon.com Inc canceling their in-person attendance as Omicron cases surged across the globe.
“Results from testing done onsite by medical staff were reported to the local Southern Nevada Health Authorities,” CES organizer Consumer Technology Association said.
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In other news out of CES, automaker Stellantis NV said Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares, who attended the show, did not contract COVID-19 in Las Vegas.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
