CES tech fair prepares to draw crowds as Covid surges

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), one of the world's largest trade fairs, returns to Las Vegas in person this week under a newly resurgent pandemic that has supercharged the industry but threatens its downsized expo.

Multiple companies -- including Amazon, BMW and Microsoft -- reduced or cancelled their attendance as Covid-19 case numbers broke records, but organisers said safety protocols were in place for thousands of expected attendees.

Masks and proof of vaccination are required at the show that opens Wednesday and was trimmed by one day to end Friday, with expected exhibitors down more than half to roughly 2,200 from the last in-person CES.

"We are confident that attendees and exhibitors can have a socially distanced but worthwhile and productive event in Las Vegas," organisers said in an email, declining to state the number of cancellations.

But some experts urged caution and daily testing, as not all attendees can be counted on to comply with mask-wearing rules.

"An indoor event with thousands of people at this point in time carries risks, even with vaccination and masking requirements," Vincent Rajkumar, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, told AFP. 

The showfloor -- which organisers concede may be poked with gaps after cancellations -- was set to include the most buzzed-about tech, such as autonomous vehicles, commercial spaceflight, NFT digital goods, work-from-home tools and the usual array of gadgetry.