Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said its annual shareholders’ meeting on May 1 will be held virtually for a second straight year.

“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 Omaha, Nebraska-based company said Thursday in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett said in mid-March that he “very much” regretted not being able to hold an in-person get-together. This year’s gathering went virtual as the coronavirus pandemic spurred public-gathering restrictions and business shutdowns across the U.S.

“We hope that the 2021 meeting will be the last time that shareholders are unable to attend in person,” the company said in Thursday’s statement. “We look forward to 2022, when we expect to again host shareholders in Omaha at our usual large gala, aka ‘Woodstock for Capitalists.’”