CES 2022 to start a day earlier due to COVID concerns

CES has kicked off the final day of its 2022 tech convention in Las Vegas, and the show will now end on January 7, the Consumer Technology Association announced today. The shortened schedule is "an added safety net" due to the rise in COVID-19 diagnoses.

Over the past two weeks, a number of large companies have given up their physical presence at the conference, including BMW, Intel, AMD, GM, Google, T-Mobile, Amazon, Microsoft and the company formerly known as Facebook. It is the largest technical conference in the world, usually attended by over 10,000 people every year.

Yesterday the US set a new record in COVID-19: the highest number of daily infections recorded - breaking a record the day before. Las Vegas is located in Clark County, Nevada, where 11 percent of COVID tests are yielding positive results. Nevada's COVID tracker marks Clark County as an area of advanced disease transmission.

The CTA said in its emailed statement that more than 2,200 exhibitors have been confirmed for CES. As exhibitors reduce their visits to Las Vegas, CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro has said that the show will be "up and running." In today's announcement, the CTA said 143 companies have signed up for individual exposure in the past two weeks.

Attendees must show proof of vaccination to receive their badge. The CTA has also requested that they test for COVID-19 no less than 24 hours before entering the conference, and will provide free rapid tests to help with this. Masks will be required for the show, and international travelers will get a free PCR test after the show ends.