Facebook cancels F8 conference in San Jose over coronavirus concerns

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Facebook says it is canceling its annual F8 conference in San Jose due to coronavirus concerns.

The Menlo Park based company made the announcement Thursday, calling it "a tough call to make."

"In light of the growing concerns around COVID-19, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person component of F8 this year, in order to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on," said Facebook in a statement.

The annual developer conference was set to take place May 5-6 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

"In place of the in-person F8 event, we're planning other ways for our community to get together through a combo of locally hosted events, videos and live streamed content. We'll share additional details on our plans for F8 in the coming weeks," said Facebook.

The company also canceled its Global Marketing Summit in San Francisco set to take place in March due to public health risks related to coronavirus.