Way to make the right call three months later, folks. pic.twitter.com/fBYs13Nnec

— Russell Holly (@russellholly) July 28, 2020

It didn’t help CES’ cause that, back in April, there was a news story suggesting that the 2020 event had helped supercharge the spread of the virus. Given that the event had 182,000 attendees from all over the world, all of whom were packed like sardines into trade show halls, it’s certainly plausible. It didn’t help that video footage emerging from Las Vegas casino floors showed a number of patrons not wearing masks, and all in close proximity to one another.

The CTA had said, for CES 2021, that it was expecting to take a number of extra precautions to enable the show to go ahead. That included wider aisles, more space in meeting and breakout areas as well as regular sanitation of booths and tables. Despite this, it’s likely that a number of companies would prefer to stay at home rather than spend a lot of money sending their employees to the event.

We’ll wait to learn more about how this digital-only event will take place, and how the CTA will encourage discovery of lesser-known startups in this new format.

The CTA notes that “the meetings world is developing and implementing best practices, and we will assess and evaluate the latest solutions in the coming months.” It doesn’t have concrete plans to take temperature readings at entry points just yet, but it’ll “evaluate solutions for contactless thermal scans.” There’ll be increased access to medical aid and health services on-site as well. 

The organization will also encourage attendees and exhibitors to adopt best practices for the likes of shaking hands and wearing masks. When asked by Engadget whether face coverings would be mandatory or if CES would have a smaller capacity next year, a CTA spokesperson did not provide further clarification.

CES 2021 won’t take place for another seven months, and a lot can change in that time — including future waves of coronavirus infections — so it’s perhaps a little premature to make firm plans for next year. At least one CES 2020 attendee had COVID-19 around the time of the event, and many others often leave Las Vegas with a case of the “CES flu.”

In any case, the CTA says major brands have committed to next year’s show. CES 2021 will have a larger livestreaming schedule as part of the show’s expanded digital presence, and the organization says it’ll “showcase our exhibitors’ products, technology breakthroughs and ideas to the world, both physically in Las Vegas and digitally.” Whether it’ll actually be safe enough for a huge number of people to attend CES in person is still up in the air.

Update 6/3 3:15 PM ET: Noted that the CTA did not provide further clarification about masks or CES 2021 capacity.