SEOUL. – Next month’s table tennis world championships in South Korea have been postponed until June over health concerns as the east Asian nation grapples with an outbreak of the coronavirus.
The event was scheduled for March 22 to 29 in the southern city of Busan but will be pushed back provisionally to June 21-28, organizers said on Tuesday.
“Given the uncertainty and changing situation in Korea Republic amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 across the nation, the decision was made with the health and safety of players, officials and fans as the top priority,” the International Table Tennis Federation said in a statement.
South Korean health authorities have been battling a surge of new coronavirus cases that took the nation’s tally to 893 on Tuesday. Nine have died from the virus in the country.
A slew of cases have been reported in Busan, the country’s second largest city. — Reuters
