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Coronavirus pandemic

International Skating Union cancels 2020 World Cup Short Track in Seoul over COVID-19

The event was initially scheduled to be hosted by South Korea’s Seoul on December 11-13

MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. The International Skating Union (ISU) has announced a decision to cancel or postpone a number of major international sports competitions this year, including the 2020 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating, due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus, the ISU press office said in a statement.

Read also

ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2020 canceled over coronavirus

The 2020 ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating was initially scheduled to be hosted by South Korea’s Seoul on December 11-13.

"Considering the pandemic developments and related impact on the organizers and participants of ISU Events, the ISU Council decided to cancel or postpone the following ISU Events: <…> ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating, Seoul, December 11-13, 2020 (cancelled)," the statement from the ISU reads.

The global skating body’s press service also announced a decision to postpone indefinitely the 2020 ISU World Cup Short Track Championship, which was scheduled to be hosted by China’s Beijing on December 18-20 as a qualifying event for the next Winter Olympics.

"ISU World Cup Short Track, Beijing, December 18-20, 2020 (Olympic Test Event) (postponed)," according to the ISU statement.

"Concerning the Olympic Test Events in Beijing there were also a number of logistical points raised by potentially participating teams that meant that hosting the competitions on the scheduled dates (close to the end of year holidays and National Championships) would have impacted on the number of participants, given the potential need to quarantine on returning to their home country," the ISU stated.

"The ISU, in consultation with all stakeholders and considering the pandemic developments, is evaluating the continuation of the 2020/21 season, in particular the re-scheduling possibilities for the important Olympic Test Events," the statement from the ISU added.

The IOC (the International Olympic Committee) and the IPC (the International Paralympic Committee) announced on March 24 a decision to postpone for one year the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Japan due to the continuous COVID-19 spread.

Yoshiro Mori, the head of the Tokyo-2020 Olympics Local Organizing Committee, announced on March 30 that the Summer Olympic Games in Japan next year will start on July 23 and the Summer Paralympic Games will begin on August 24.

Сoronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 35,452,870 people have been infected worldwide and more than 1,042,730 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 26,656,530 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, 1,225,889 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 982,324 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 21,475 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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