North American Int'l Auto Show Canceled As Venue To Become COVID-19 Hospital - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2020) The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), scheduled to take place in the US city of Detroit in June, has been canceled as the planned venue will be used as a treatment center for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, local media reports, citing a memo from the organizers.

According to the Detroit Free Press newspaper, the Federal Emergency Management Agency chose the TCF Center to be the location of a field hospital amid the ongoing coronavirus disease outbreak, forcing the cancellation.

"The health and welfare of the citizens of Detroit and Michigan is paramount. TCF Center is the ideal location for this important function at this critical and unprecedented time," NAIAS Executive Director Rod Alberts said in a memo delivered to event sponsors on Saturday, as quoted by the newspaper.

The 2021 edition of the auto show is still scheduled to take place as planned. The event is regularly attended by 800,000 people, according to the newspaper.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, there have been more than 122,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States and over 2,000 deaths from the disease. More than 4,500 cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the state of Michigan since the start of the outbreak.