BEIJING (Reuters) - The
Beijing Marathon has been postponed indefinitely after the race was called off amid rising COVID-19 cases in China, the media quoted organizers as saying.
Organizers said they were cancelling next weekend’s race “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,” the media reported.
The marathon was set to return this year after it was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Wuhan Marathon, which was due to be held last Sunday, was also called off with a new date yet to be determined.
China reported 43 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up from 39 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Tuesday.
Confirmed cases in mainland China now total 96,840, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,636.