Simon Jones: Spread betting

With the postponement of this weekend’s Mido exhibition in Milan, Coronavirus and its seemingly unstoppable spread is now a little too close to home.

I made the decision not to attend Mido a couple of weeks ago and I don’t think I will have been alone in making that choice. Although the chances of catching coronavirus at the event were small, why would anyone open themselves up to additional risk? I’m not particularly worried about the effects of the virus, but the thought of a potential quarantine period didn’t sit that well with me.

More so than other optical trade shows, Mido is truly global – the vast space taken up by Asian exhibitors is testament to this. The organisers’ decision to close the Far East Pavilion in an effort to stop people from the affected regions coming to the show seemed like a good thing to do, but would it have worked? I don’t think so.