World Athletics has announced that it has postponed the first three meetings of the Wanda Diamond League because of COVID-19 virus pandemic.

The news comes in the wake of growing concern over whether the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo, Japan this summer.

According to World Athletics, the first three meets of the 2020 Wanda Diamond League season, scheduled for April 17 in Qatar and May 9 and 16, 2020 in China, cannot be held as planned.

“This decision was made in close consultation with organising committees, local authorities and sports governing bodies,” World Athletics said in a statement.

“It is forbidden to enter Qatar from a number of countries and the government in Doha has suspended all national and international events for a period of 30 days.

While the number of new infections is now decreasing in China, the fact remains that preparations for the meetings have been set back by several weeks and the closed borders and travel restrictions make it impossible to organise international top-level competitions.”

The governing body said the current plan is to stage the Shanghai event on August 13 while new dates for Doha and the second meeting in China remain to be announced.

It could be that they will be held after the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich from September 9-11, where the Diamond League Champions will be crowned, should the global situation allow.