The Interwine trade fair organizing committee cancelled its June show in Guangzhou, citing a COVID-19 case reported by the city’s Municipal Health Commission. This is one of several new cases reported in Guangzhou over the past week. A new date for the fair, originally set for June 3 to June 5 and to cover 50,000 square meters, will be announced in the next 24 hours, say organizers. The new date is expected to be in July or August.

While the number of cases in Guangdong is small, extreme caution tends to be the policy in China. And for trade fairs, even if they are not required to cancel by the authorities, they must still consider whether attendees will show up given the possibility of facing quarantine upon returning to their home cities, especially if the COVID-19 situation worsens as the fair is being held.

A few new reported cases in Shenzhen, also in Guangdong province, means it is highly likely the second Wine to Asia fair, slated for June 8 to 10, will also be postponed although there hasn’t been an official announcement yet.

Sign up for the Grape Wall newsletter here. Follow Grape Wall on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. And see my sibling sites World Marselan Day, World Baijiu Day and Beijing Boyce. Grape Wall has no advertisers, so if you find the content useful, please help cover the costs via PayPal, WeChat or Alipay. Contact Grape Wall via grapewallofchina (at) gmail.com.