Google I/O takes place near Google's headquarters in California every year in the early summer, aimed at helping developers with their work and announcing new products. The 2020 event was scheduled to take place on May 12-14, but now Google has canceled it due to safety concerns.

Google is sending out emails to registered attendees, explaining that the company decided to cancel I/O due to concerns about the COVID-19 virus. "All guests who have purchased tickets to I/O 2020 will receive a full refund by March 13, 2020," the message reads. Also, guests who registered for the event will automatically enter the drawing for I/O 2021 tickets next year, and Google is pledging to give $1 million to local small businesses and schools for STEM research and coronavirus protection.

Google I/O is the latest in a string of events to be canceled due to the coronavirus, joining Mobile World Congress, GDC, Facebook's F8 developer conference, and others. It's a shame for anyone who planned to attend I/O, but as governments around the world are struggling to contain the virus, bringing together thousands of people from many different countries might not be the best idea at the moment.

Many would-be MWC attendees moved their announcements to livestreams after that event was canceled, so perhaps Google will do the same here — the company's Cloud Next event is already set to have streamed keynotes. We've reached out to the company for specifics about future I/O plans, and we will update this post if we get a response.