OMAHA- Berkshire Hathaway won't bring shareholders to Omaha next May for its annual meeting because of the coronavirus threat. Instead, for the second year in a row, the meeting will be held virtually. The company said the May 1, 2021, meeting will be similar in format to the 2020 shareholders meeting.

"Unfortunately, we do not currently believe it will be safe at that time to hold a meeting with nearly 40,000 attendees as we last did in 2019," the company said in a press release issued Thursday.

Omaha's tourism industry has been dealt a series of blows by the coronavirus pandemic. This year, Berkshire chairman and CEO Warren Buffett decided not to allow shareholders to physically attend the meeting, and canceled all special events associated with the weekend. The NCAA canceled the 2020 College World Series, and USA Swimming postponed the Olympic Trials a year until June 13 through 20, 2021, at the CHI Health Center. Yahoo will provide worldwide streaming for Berkshire's 2021 meeting. Additional information will be included in the company's 2020 annual report, which is scheduled to be posted online on Feb. 27.

Read the full article HERE