MONACO - The governing body of world athletics announced on Tuesday that the first three meetings of the 2020 Diamond League will be pushed off due to the global coronavirus outbreak.

"Due to the growing number of countries affected by the COVID-19 virus, the first three meetings of the 2020 Wanda Diamond League season, scheduled for April 17 in Qatar, 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.

World Athletics said Qatar had forbidden arrivals from a number of countries and regions and the government in Doha has suspended all national and international events for a period of 30 days.

It said although the number of new infections is decreasing in China, it was impossible to organize international top-level competitions due to delay in preparations and travel restrictions.

World Athletics plans to stage the Shanghai event on August 13. New dates for Doha and the second meeting in China remain to be announced. It could be that they will be held after the Diamond League Final in Zurich from September 9 to 11, where the Diamond League champions will be crowned, should the global situation allow, it said.