Microsoft has cancelled its flagship developer conference 'Build 2020' in-person, scheduled to take place in Seattle from May 19-21.
The Microsoft ‘Build' will now be a digital-only event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New coronavirus cases in Washington State have surged to 457, including 31 deaths.
"In light of the health safety recommendations for Washington State, we will deliver our annual Microsoft Build event for developers as a digital event, in lieu of an in-person event," Microsoft said in a statement to The Verge on Thursday.
Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has announced a ban on events with more than 250 attendees in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties through the end of March.
Microsoft uses 'Build' conference, attended by over 5,000, to showcase new technologies and features for its Office and Windows products.
Microsoft has also cancelled its Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Summit in Seattle.
Several top-notch companies like Google, Facebook, Oracle have either cancelled or postponed their annual flagship events in the wake of growing coronavirus cases in the US and elsewhere.
Coronavirus cases in the US have exploded by more than 500% in the past four days -- from 213 confirmed cases on March 9 to 1,322 cases on Thursday.
Deaths have risen from 11 to 38 over the same period -- a 245% increase, reports CCN.
Meanwhile, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has asked all employees to work from home and has postponed the company's planned partner summit.
Before getting postponed, the April 2 event for Snapchat developers, advertisers and creators was moved to an online-only presentation amid coronavirus fears, The Verge reported on Thursday.
"We don't feel like it would be appropriate to celebrate our partners in the midst of a global health crisis. I am so grateful for the tireless efforts and hard work of all of our team members working to make SPS possible - and I can't wait to share all of the amazing things we have created when the time is right," the report quoted Spiegel.
Snap's offices will remain open and the company is coordinating with team members in critical business functions who need to be in the office to ensure business continuity, while most workers are staying home.
A number of other companies including Google, Twitter and Amazon have encouraged their employees in some areas hit by coronavirus to work from home.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
The virus has spread globally, infecting over 118,000 people and killing nearly 5,000.
