(Emerald City Comic Con Photo)

The company behind the Emerald City Comic Con announced that the convention will go ahead as scheduled despite rising fears over the spread of coronavirus.

Event organizer ReedPOP announced Monday that Emerald City Comic Con is still a go for March 12-15 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

“We have implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization across the show, including adhering to the recommendations set forth in the U.S. EPA’s Emerging Pathogen Policy regarding cleaning disinfectants effective against the COVID- 19 virus,” the company said in a statement. “We are working closely with the WSCC and our other venue partners and aligning with local, state and federal public health guidelines and agencies.

“As ECCC approaches we will be constantly reviewing our health protection activities, public health messaging, hygiene and medical control measures with the aim of strengthening our COVID-19 response further in line with up to date public health advice and guidance, including that of the CDC.”

The Emerald City Comic Con, held every year since 2003, is a major event in the American comics industry, with many artists and writers coming in from across the nation to attend panels and set up booths. It features a variety of guests from across popular culture; this year’s show includes Avengers: Endgame actor Mark Ruffalo as a headliner. The 2019 show attracted 98,000 attendees over the course of four days.

ReedPOP’s decision to continue with ECCC as scheduled comes in the wake of multiple other conventions that have been postponed or cancelled, such as this year’s Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco, due to concerns about COVID-19.

Microsoft on Monday cancelled its Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Summit, which was set to take place March 15-20 in the Seattle region. The decision came amid increasing reports of coronavirus cases in the Seattle region, where Microsoft is headquartered. The Washington Department of Health reported 18 confirmed cases and 6 deaths on Monday.

ReedPOP is the pop-culture-oriented arm of the UK-based Reed Exhibitions, which organizes events in various fields worldwide. ReedPOP runs the various Penny Arcade Expos, in addition to many other major conventions, such as last weekend’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. It also owns the Gamer Network, which runs several video game-focused media sites.

Reed Exhibitions’ lineup includes upcoming conventions such as the London Book Fair on March 10, the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes on the same day, and the Crocus Expo, a convention for construction distributors and manufacturers, which begins Tuesday in Moscow.

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