The County of Santa Clara Public Health has issued an order canceling mass gatherings due to increasing rates of the coronavirus. The county cities like Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose, and where Apple’s two main campuses and some satellite offices are located.
“This order will take effect at 12:00 a.m. on March 11 and will remain in place for three weeks as more widespread testing becomes available and we are able to learn more about the spread of COVID-19,” the health agency says.
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is usually held in June, so the order will hopefully be rescinded by then. However, there’s also the chance that it could be extended. If so, that would only leave April and May for developers to plan to attend WWDC. What’s more, Apple hasn’t yet announced a date for the conference which, I suspect, means the company is still weighing its options.
This doesn’t mean that there will be no WWDC; it’s just that it may take a more “digital” format. See our March 6 article for possibilities.
