San Francisco, Mar 11 (IANS): Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has reportedly cancelled the March 31 launch event because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, GizmoChina reported on Wednesday.

Apple was expected to launch iPhone SE 2 aka iPhone 9 later this month, along with some other devices, including new generation of iPad Pro.

The decision of cancelling the event from the iPhone maker comes as the Santa Clara County has temporarily banned mass gatherings of people due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the region.

Additionally, Apple's restrictions on its engineers from travelling to Asia due to coronavirus has affected the development of its next-generation iPhone 12 which could result in a delayed fall launch.

The Cupertino-based tech giant has extended the deadline by one month to the end of April for its engineers from making business trips to Asia.

These restrictions have delayed the engineering verification tests (EVTs) for the 5G iPhones at manufacturing facilities in China.

Apple said in February that its revenue for the current quarter would be below its forecasts and that the worldwide iPhone supply "will be temporarily constrained" because of the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic.