White House to meet big tech companies to coordinate efforts over coronavirus outbreak

(Reuters) — The White House will meet large technology companies on Wednesday to coordinate efforts over the coronavirus outbreak, seeking to control a contagious respiratory illness that has infected almost 1,000 people in the United States and more than 100,000 globally.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy confirmed to Reuters the meeting would include Facebook, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Twitter, Apple, and Microsoft.

The meeting will be led by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios, with some companies participating by teleconference, the White House said.

The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fox Business first reported the meeting on Wednesday

White House officials are meeting members from the airline, financial, and health care industries to discuss ways to contain the impact from the spread of the virus.

The White House and Congress on Tuesday discussed measures to bolster the U.S. economy and Americans’ paychecks against the outbreak’s impact, prompting a rebound in hard-hit stock markets.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Nandita Bose in Washington, editing by Peter Cooney.)