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China’s first-ever Winter X Games are going to be delayed. Because of the ongoing threat of the Wuhan coronavirus, organizers announced that the event would be postponed until a later date. The death toll of the coronavirus has hit 170 with 7,711 total cases, according to USA TODAY.
The announcement was made in a statement on social media.
“Due to the ongoing coronavirus concerns, the X Games Chongli 2020 event will be postponed until a later date,” organizers said in a statement. “The safety of our athletes, staff and spectators is our top priority, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”
The Winter X Games were set to take place from February 21-23 at the Chongli Secret Garden ski resort, which is set to be a venue used for alpine events during the 2022 Beijing Olympics. An Alpine skiing World Cup event was also scheduled to take place at the resort, but it was also canceled due to the coronavirus threat.
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact. While a majority of the cases have been detected in China, it has now reached many countries around the world including the United States. It has also been confirmed in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
The Wuhan coronavirus has now infected more people in China than were sickened during the 2002-2003 outbreak of another coronavirus, SARS.
