Global Pet Expo to go ahead in spite of coronavirus

The Global Pet Expo international trade show will go ahead as planned from 26 to 28 February in Orlando. However, the fair organisers expect that around 130 exhibitors, primarily from China, will not make it to the USA on account of the tightened entry requirements due to the coronavirus. This was the response by a spokeswoman for the event to a question from the PET worldwide trade magazine. Online editions of US trade magazines were still reporting a week ago that a maximum of 70 exhibitors would not be able to attend the fair.
The fair organisers are nevertheless assuming that the show will run successfully, with over 1 000 exhibitors and 7 000 buyers expected to attend the Global Pet Expo despite the virus outbreak. Chinese companies affected were originally recommended by event officials to let their American sales representatives deputise for them if possible, but evidently only a few companies have chosen this option due to a lack of suitable staff.
To provide exhibitors and trade visitors at the fair with the best possible safeguards against the virus, preventive hygiene measures have been significantly ramped up. A raft of measures is expected to be in place to ensure visitors are well protected: up to 100 hand sanitiser dispensers are available in the exhibition halls, while heavily used fittings such as door handles and stair handrails will be cleaned more frequently than usual. The fair organisers are in constant communication with the health authorities as well as the Orange County Convention Center and hotels in Orlando regarding the action being taken.