The new dates of the 19th Asian Games will be agreed between the OCA, the COC and the HAGOC

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced on Friday that the 2022 Asian Games, which were set to take place from September 10 - 25 in China, Hangzhou, have been postponed.

"Following detailed discussions with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC), the OCA Executive Board (EB) today decided to postpone the 19th Asian Games, which were scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China, from 10 to 25 September 2022," the OCA confirmed in a statement.

The new dates of the 19th Asian Games will be agreed upon between the OCA, the COC, and the HAGOC and announced in the near future," the committee noted.

We strongly believe this decision will benefit the city of Hangzhou, athletes and global fans.
Stay safe.#AsianGames #19thAsianGames #Announcement pic.twitter.com/RwCyMf0Xsm
— Olympic Council of Asia (@AsianGamesOCA) May 6, 2022

The statement said that the decision "was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games."

China has been facing a new surge in Covid-19 cases since early March, prompting Beijing to enforce lockdowns in several regions in pursuance of its stringent zero-Covid policy.

In April, the Chinese National Health Commission indicated that the situation in Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Guangdong, Fujian, and Liaoning provinces has generally stabilized.

However, the situation in Shanghai, which has seen the largest lockdown in two years, remains difficult, with the risk of the spread of the disease among the population still high.