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wimp axes rolls out the red carpet a week from tomorrow, It will not be at this convention center for Sony for the first time in nearly a decade. It attracts 50,000 gamers from across the country and beyond and is one of the biggest of its kind in the country. And now one of the biggest names is bowing out. Sony backed out of Pax East a week before the convention descends on Boston, citing concerns over the Corona virus writing. We're disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern. All the guidance we're getting from the CDC from the other national entities that air tracking this is that way are an extremely low risk here. Pax East says the gaming will go on and says it's saddened by Sony's abrupt decision. You're able to screen to see if anyone's Corona virus again. It's one of those things that I'm not sure the rational mind, Mayor Walsh says any hysteria is unfounded and points to rigorous CDC screenings at targeted airports. Here in Boston, the risk of Corona virus is exceptionally, though there's absolutely no sustained human human transmission in Boston. Not in Massachusetts, not in New England. Dr. Paul Bidding GIR is the chief of the division of emergency preparedness at Mass. General. He says the outbreak is measured by sustained transmission, something that is quite low outside of China and non existent in the states. And, experts say, by far the real risk here in Boston and in the rest of the country, for that matter, is the flu or live in South Boston. Juli Loan Check WCVB News Center five

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With just over a week until the start of PAX East in Boston, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Wednesday it would not be participating in the annual gaming expo. The maker of the PlayStation said it was canceling its booths at the showcase over increasing concerns related to the outbreak of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus."We felt this was the safest option as the situation is changing daily," company officials wrote in a statement posted Wednesday. "We are disappointed to cancel our participation in this event, but the health and safety of our global workforce is our highest concern."Dr. Paul Biddinger, the chief of the Division of Emergency Preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the risk of coronavirus is exceptionally low in Boston, Massachusetts and even New England.According to Biddinger, the outbreak is measured by sustained transmission, which is quite low outside China and nonexistent in the United States."All the guidance we're getting from the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and from the other national entities that are tracking this is that we are at extremely low risk here," said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said any hysteria about the coronavirus in Boston is unfounded, pointing to the rigorous CDC screenings at Logan International Airport and other U.S. airports."You're able to screen to see if anyone has coronavirus," Walsh said. "I mean, again, it's one of those things where I'm not sure about the rationale behind (Sony pulling out of PAX East)."The annual convention, which features video games, is scheduled to begin Feb. 27 and run through March 1 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Officials said it will go on as planned with "enhanced cleaning and sanitation." "While we are saddened that Sony will no longer have a presence at PAX East 2020, we look forward to welcoming our friends at Sony to future PAX events and are focused on making PAX East 2020 a successful and enjoyable event for all attendees and exhibitors," PAX East officials wrote in a statement. Pax East first launched in Boston in 2010. It expanded to the current four-day format in 2018.