San Jose tech event cancelled amid coronavirus outbreak, businesses brace for economic hit

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Fears over coronavirus are causing tech giants to cancel or postpone their conferences.

Nvidia is the latest company to scrap an in-person event which would've brought more than 10,000 people to the San Jose Convention Center later this month.

This comes after Facebook announced the cancellation of its F8 developer conference in May.

RELATED: Coronavirus: Symptoms, prevention, and how to prepare for a COVID-19 outbreak in the US

"There are going to be businesses that are going to see some very slow times and we're going to have to pull together as a community to figure out how we can take care of each other," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Hotels and restaurants, and the employees who work those establishments, are expected to be some of the hardest hit financially.

"Preparation is the best thing we can do and have contingency plans in place," said Chef Randy Musterer of Sushi Confidential, who also caters at the convention center. "We're anticipating if there is a drop of customers coming in, we'll be staffed up appropriately for all the to-go orders."

RELATED: Coronavirus Outbreak: 7 questions answered

Members of the San Jose Downtown Association say now is not the time to panic.

"Go into that cafe, go into that restaurant, go into that small shop and please be a customer," said Scott Knies, the association's executive director. "They're really going to need your support during this time."

Tourist attractions such as the Children's Discovery Museum are also seeing a drop in business, but officials there say they've put extra precautions in place to give visitors as much peace of mind as possible.

"We do know that families are worried about going to big public places," said the museum's executor, Marilee Jennings. "We go back and look at all of our sanitizing equipment, and the different detergents that we use, and we make sure that we have the right chemical composition to get rid of whatever germs we're attacking."