The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships are to be postponed over concerns about the new Coronavirus.
The championships had been due to take place on 13-15 March 2020 in Nanjing, China, but organisers now say that they will work to secure a date in 2021 to stage the event instead.
In a press release, World Athletics said;
“We know that China is doing all it can to contain the new Coronavirus and we support them in all their efforts but it is necessary to provide our athletes, Member Federations and partners with a clear way forward in what is a complex and fast-moving set of circumstances.
“The advice from our medical team, who are in contact with the World Health Organisation, is that the spread of the Coronavirus both within China and outside the country is still at a concerning level and no one should be going ahead with any major gathering that can be postponed.”
World Athletics also said they have explored the possibility of relocating the event, but had decided against it.
The Coronavirus outbreak and the concern over it has continued to grow in recent days. According to Downing Street, hundreds of British citizens being flown back to the UK from Wuhan on Thursday will be put in “supported isolation” for 14 days, as parts of efforts to prevent any possible spread of the virus.
There are currently no confirmed cases of the new Coronavirus in the UK, but the virus has spread to 16 other countries. In total, there were nearly 6,000 confirmed cases of the virus worldwide at the end of Wednesday and 132 deaths in China.
