Coronavirus forces postponement of Hong Kong Sevens
Organisers of Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament have announced the postponement of this year’s edition of the tournament by six months so as to protect the Shujaa and other participating teams from the Coronavirus outbreak.
This tournament was originally set for April 3-12, but will now be played from October 16-18. The venue remains Hong Kong Stadium.
“The rescheduling to October is in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and the ensuing travel and logistical implications,” the Honk Kong Rugby Union explained in a statement.
“Given the expanding travel measures being put in place amidst ongoing containment efforts, it was felt that the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU) could no longer guarantee to host the event in April without disruption. When offered the opportunity of hosting from 16-18 October by World Rugby, the HKRU felt it was in the best interests of the tournament, the teams, and the fans to reschedule,” the statement further read.
BIG NAME PLAYERS
Fans who had purchased tickets via official channels have been assured that their tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled event and a full refund will be provided in the event fans are unable to attend in October.
A revamped Kenyan team featuring big name players such as Andrew Amonde and Collins Injera were set to compete in the tournament.
This development comes a day after Formula One’s Chinese Grand Prix was postponed owing to the same reasons.
Race organisers explained that while the Chinese Grand Prix is ‘an important part of the F1 calendar they have decided it can no longer go ahead as planned.
This as the Chinese province at the center of the novel Coronavirus reported a spike in deaths bringing the total number to more than 1300 globally.