Facebook Inc said on Friday it had canceled its global marketing summit scheduled for next month in San Francisco due to coronavirus-related risks. Separately, IBM canceled its participation in the RSA cyber security conference.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we canceled our global marketing summit due to evolving public health risks related to coronavirus,” a Facebook spokesman said.

The global marketing summit, scheduled for March 9 to March 12 at the Moscone Center, was expected to see over 4,000 participants.

"The health of IBMers is our primary concern as we continue to monitor upcoming events and travel relative to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)", IBM said in a tweet.

The RSA cyber security is scheduled to take place Feb. 24–28 in San Francisco.

RSA said in a statement that it would proceed as scheduled despite IBM’s decision to no longer participate in the conference as a Platinum Sponsor.

Earlier this week, Mobile World Congress (MWC), the annual telecoms industry gathering in Barcelona, was canceled after a mass exodus by exhibitors on coronavirus fears.