- The World Economic Forum is postponing its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
- The forum cited concerns over the Omicron variant, which is leading to rising cases worldwide.
- The event will be pushed to to early summer 2022, the forum said.
The World Economic Forum is postponing its annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, next month over concerns about the Omicron variant.
The forum announced Monday that it will move the meeting, originally scheduled to take place January 17-21, to early summer 2022. The current pandemic situation makes it "extremely difficult to deliver a global in-person meeting," the forum said in a statement.
"Despite the meeting's stringent health protocols, the transmissibility of Omicron and its impact on travel and mobility have made deferral necessary," the forum said.
This is the second year in a row that the pandemic has interfered with the forum's prestigious annual meeting, which draws billionaires, CEOs, politicians, and thought leaders from all over the world. The forum initially pushed its 2021 meeting to May and moved the location to Singapore, but called off the event after a rise in COVID cases in the city-state. The forum also held a virtual event in January 2021.
The Omicron variant is currently "raging through the world," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser and the nation's top infectious disease expert, said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. While Fauci isn't anticipating widespread lockdowns, some schools across the country are closing down and businesses like restaurants and hair salons are growing nervous amid an expected surge of Omicron cases.