Ericsson is moving forward with plans for its Annual General Meeting (AGM) later this month, but the tech giant is taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of its shareholders. The AGM is scheduled to take place at 3:00 pm CEST on March 31 at Kistamässan in Stockholm.

Of course, large gatherings are being heavily discouraged due to the threat of the coronavirus, and Ericsson has made several programming changes that reflect those concerns. Most notably, Ericsson will stream a live webcast of the AGM, while Euroclear Sweden AB will allow shareholders to vote through an authorized proxy. That means that most shareholders will not need to attend in person in order to make their voices heard during the event.

Ericsson is strongly urging people to consider the remote participation option. It is also giving people less incentive to attend in person. The company will not be serving any food or refreshments during the event, and guests will no longer have the opportunity to visit the Ericsson Studio Unboxed. The presence of the board and upper management will be similarly limited, with President and CEO Börje Ekholm opting to appear online and not in person.

Finally, Ericsson will reduce the duration of the event for those who do choose to attend. The doors will not open until 2:00 pm, instead of 1:30 pm.

Ericsson stressed that it is following the recommendations of WHO and The Public Health Agency of Sweden, the latter of which has placed the risk of contamination in the Stockholm region at its highest level. Ericsson was one of the first companies to drop out of MWC Barcelona before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the full cancellation of the event.

Despite the disruption, Ericsson has continued to develop its portfolio, and recently launched Norway’s first commercial 5G network in collaboration with Telenor.