COVID-19: World Table Tennis Tourney Suffers Setback In South Korea

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has just been informed of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Busan, Korea Republic, the host city for the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships to be held between 22 – 29 March 2020.
 
Following breaking news of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Busan, the ITTF has decided to postpone the First Stage draw for the Hana Bank 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, Saturday 22^nd February 2020 in Busan.
 
On Saturday there will be an emergency contingency meeting between the ITTF Senior Management, the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) and the city of Busan representatives to further discuss the extraordinary situation. Following the meeting, the status of the event will be discussed by the ITTF Executive Committee.
 
The ITTF has been conducting a site inspection this week in Busan, including discussions with KTTA on how to safeguard everyone’s health and safety at the world’s biggest international table tennis event.
 
The ITTF and KTTA are taking advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) and working with the Korean government to put in place the most robust health and safety measures.
 
The ITTF and KTTA are continuing to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates when more information comes to hand.