ATHENS – With seven coronavirus cases in Greece, none serious, fears the disease could spread have nonetheless led organizers of the Delphi Economic Forum, scheduled for March 5-8 to postpone the event until later in the spring, likely by the end of May or early June.

“We have decided to postpone the Delphi Economic Forum V for late May – early June this year,” the organizers announced, said Kathimerini.

“Our decision is based on current facts and guidance from local, national and international authorities including the World Health Organization which yesterday upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to ‘Very High,’” they said on Feb. 29.

“We regret any inconvenience caused. However, the safety and health of all our visitors, speakers, employees and the citizens of the region we operate, has the utmost priority for us. “We would like to thank all our speakers, sponsors, participants, programming partners and members from all over the world who over the past few days and weeks have stood by us and showed trust to our team.”

This year’s forum was to have more than 750 local and international participants including government officials, academics and businessmen, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Roberto Alvarez, Executive Director of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, University of Illinois-Chicago Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Israeli Ambassador Yossi Amrani, Eurobank Group Chief Economist Tasos Anastasatos, and Google Southeast Europe Group Manager Peggy Antonakou, among others.