KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippines may postpone the 10th Asean Para Games (APG) for a second time due to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) scare.
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has recommended to the Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) to reschedule the APG to a later date, after postponing the biennial Games from January to March 20-28, due to financial and logistical constraints.
“PSC-managed events such as the National Sports Summit 2020, Philippine National Games, Children's Games, Batang Pinoy (Philippine Youth Games) and other activities have been postponed indefinitely as a security measure in light of the 2019-nCoV outbreak.
“The sports agency also gave its formal recommendation to postpone the 2020 APG, considering the said health crisis. This was officially announced during the press conference, held today at Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila,” stated the advisory posted on PSC’s Facebook page.
CNN Philippines reported that the final decision, however, would be taken by the PPC as its president, Mike Barredo is to consult with the Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday to discuss the actions to be taken, probably postponing the APG to May or June.
The Philippine government has already banned all visitors from China, Hong Kong and Macau due to the outbreak. -- Bernama