Valve's high-end VR headset, the Index, is still out of stock, and as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the company expects to ship "far fewer" units in the coming months than originally planned. However, Valve also expects to have stock available in time for Half-Life: "We expect to have stock available in time for Alyx.

"With Half-Life: Alyx set to launch on March 23, we are working hard to meet the demand for Valve Indexes. However, due to the global coronavirus health crisis affecting our production schedule, we will be able to sell significantly fewer units in the coming months than we had originally planned," Valve said in a statement to UploadVR.

This is a bit of a confusing statement, and it is not clear if inventory will be available by the time Half-Life launches: it is unclear if the inventory that will be available before Alyx launches will be sufficient to meet demand. We will have to wait and see.

"Our entire team is working hard right now to maximize inventory, and to receive notification as soon as the Valve Index is restocked, please visit Steam and click 'Notify Me,'" Valve added.

The coronavirus has disrupted a variety of markets, including the high-tech sector; in addition to Indexes being hard to find, Oculus Quest is also in short supply, and Facebook recently acknowledged the impact the virus is having on production.

"Oculus Quest is in high demand and has sold out in some areas. Nevertheless, like other companies, we expect the coronavirus to have an additional impact on hardware production. We are taking precautions to ensure the safety of our employees, manufacturing partners and customers and are monitoring the situation closely. We are working to restore availability as quickly as possible," Facebook said in a statement.

The delay in hardware shipments is a terrible situation, though clearly a secondary concern compared to the ongoing health threats and loss of life caused by the virus.