A venue for the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, photographed in March. Photo: Shi Zinan/China News Service via Getty Images
The 2022 Asian Games that were set to be held in Hangzhou, China, in September have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, the Olympic Council of Asia announced Friday.
Driving the news: China is currently experiencing its worst outbreak to date, largely driven by the omicron variant of COVID-19.
- Hangzhou was to host the Asian Games between Sept. 10-25 along with more than 11,000 athletes — more than the typical Summer Olympics, according to AP.
- China's "zero-COVID" response to the outbreak has led to massive lockdowns in Shanghai and other cities, which in turn have set off food shortages, disruptions in medical care and rising social unrest.
The big picture: The Olympic Council of Asia and the Chinese Olympic Committee did not set new dates for the games but said they would be announced "in the near future."
Go deeper: Beijing braces for COVID lockdown with mass testing and panic buying