Organizers of the annual World Economic Forum summit of country leaders and corporate chiefs are putting on hold the event in January in Davos, Switzerland, due to COVID-19 concerns.

 The forum’s spokesman, Adrian Monck, who made this known on Wednesday, said that the decision was not taken easily, since the need for global leaders to come together to design a common recovery path and shape post-COVID-19 era is so urgent.

He disclosed that the annual summit is now set to take place in early summer instead.

“The new schedule will be announced as soon as the organizers are assured that all conditions are fulfilled to guarantee the health and safety of the participants and the hosting community,’’ Monck said.

 The plan for the meeting in January was that the organizers would hold online dialogue events with global leaders instead.

The forum usually brings around 3,000 participants to the Swiss mountain resort of Davos at the beginning of the year, including Heads of State and Government, Executives of multinational corporations, and the chiefs of many international organizations.