New Chinese COVID outbreaks sees postponement of Beijing and Wuhan marathons
Following a recent surge of the Coronavirus, Chinese authorities have announced the postponement of mass participation events the Beijing Marathon and the Wuhan Marathon.
Cancelled in 2020, the return of the events had been seen as move toward the re-establishment of spectator and participation sport.
With a top health official warning that the fresh outbreak of cases is expected to spread further, the postponement of each event until further notice, just over 100 days until the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has become a test of the China's zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
Held annually since 1981, the Beijing Marathon is one of the largest sporting events in China.
The race traditionally begins at Tiananmen Square and ends in Celebration Square in Beijing's Olympic Park.
Around 30,000 people were expected to take part in the marathon, which was scheduled to happen on 31st October.
Marathon organisers said it was cancelling the event "in order to prevent the risk of the epidemic spreading (and) effectively protect the health and safety of the majority of runners, staff and residents."
Due to have been held yesterday (24th October), the rise in cases also halted the Wuhan Marathon.
Organisers said in a statement released late last week that they would postpone the event in the central Chinese city "to prevent the risk of epidemic spread".
The event was expected to have 26,000 participants, taking part in races including a full marathon and half marathon, in the city where Coronavirus was first identified towards the end of 2019.
The latest surge is believed to have been spread by local tour groups visiting other provinces and cities.
As a result, the China Government has enforced travel restrictions, increased testing and urged heightened vigilance in a bid to stamp out the latest outbreak.
Officials have banned travel agencies from arranging cross-provincial tours that involve affected regions.
Image: Beijing Marathon participants in Tiananmen Square in 2018.
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