THE Philippine National Games (PNG), one of the qualifying events for athletes who are aspiring to be part of the national team, has been put on hold as a security measure on the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019-nCoV ARD) outbreak.

This was announced by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Thursday’s press conference, Feb. 6, 2020, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

“PSC-managed events such as the National Sports Summit, PNG, Children’s Games, Batang Pinoy and other activities have been postponed indefinitely as a security measure in light of the 2019-nCov ARD outbreak,” PSC said in a statement.

The PNG was initially scheduled to take place in May at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

The National Sports Summit, on the other hand, was supposed to be held on Feb. 27 to 28 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Seminars and events that will gather crowds of more than 40 have also been postponed.

Meanwhile, the PSC will also recommend postponing 2020 Asean ParaGames, a biennial 11-nation sporting meet for differently-abled athletes.

The decision to postpone the event, however, will come from the Philippine Paralympic Committee, which also needs to consult the Asian Paralympic Sports Federation.

In Region 7, the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) Meet in Dumaguete City and the Private Schools Athletic Association (Prisaa) Regional Finals in Cebu City were also postponed due to the 2019-nCoV ARD scare. (RSC)