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Last Thursday, the LPGA canceled its Blue Bay LPGA tournament slated to be played next month in China’s Hainan Province.
In a statement, the LPGA said, “Given the current health concerns and significant travel restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus in China, the LPGA along with our partners in China have made the decision to cancel the 2020 Blue Bay LPGA, which was scheduled to take place March 5-8 on Hainan Island. Any time you cancel an event, it is a difficult decision and we appreciate how hard our title partner (Blue Bay), IMG, the China LPGA and the China Golf Association have worked to host an incredible event. The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. While we are disappointed that the tournament won’t take place this season, we look forward to going back to Blue Bay in 2021 and for many years to come.”
The announcement came the same day the U.S. State Department issued its strongest warning, telling American citizens “Do not travel” to China. Such language is normally reserved for active war zones or areas in the midst of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or other extraordinary disasters.
As of last week, the airborne coronavirus, which has as much as a 14-day incubation period, had spread to every province in China and has been discovered on every habitable continent on the globe.
The PGA Tour has also acted on concerns about the virus, moving the site of the PGA Tour Series-China’s qualifying tournament, although the new location is to be determined. The event had been scheduled for Feb. 26-29 in Haikou, the northernmost city in China’s southernmost province Hainan.
The tour could experience complications in relocating the qualifying event. Russia has closed its 2,600-mile border with China and numerous commercial airlines, including British Airways and Air France, have canceled passenger flights in and out of the country.
Also, the Chinese government has quarantined residents in several major cities. Estimates reported by numerous media outlets are that as many as 50 million people are forbidden from traveling outside their towns. And according to reporting on the ground, many normally bustling areas are virtual ghost towns as factories and businesses have closed and residents remain shuttered indoors.
As of late last week, Tesla, IKEA and many other international businesses had temporarily suspended operations in China.
There has been no statement to date from the European Tour. The Volvo China Open is currently scheduled for April 23-26. Shanghai also is slated to host the WGC-HSBC Champions in late October, and the PGA Tour Series-China’s first two events in Hainan Province are scheduled for March 26-29 in Sanya and April 2-5 in Haikou.
Last Thursday, the same day of the LPGA’s announcement, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus an international public-health emergency.
“(The coronavirus) is a very serious public health situation,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. “We’re trying to spark a balance in our response right now.”
Staff and Wire Reports