Coronavirus: China Overwatch League matches cancelled

Blizzard Entertainment has cancelled Overwatch League matches in China through February and March, because of concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

This announcement comes after other esports events were cancelled, including the start of two League of Legends leagues.

"We have decided to cancel our February and March matches in China in order to protect the health and safety of our players, fans, and staff," Blizzard said in a statement.

"We hope fans have a safe and happy Lunar New Year, and we remain incredibly excited to play Overwatch League matches in China later this season."

Earlier in the week, Chinese Overwatch team Guangzhou Charge moved its non-Chinese players to South Korea followed by another team, the Shanghai Dragons, who also temporarily relocated team members to South Korea.

"Since the escalation of the outbreak, we and other teams in the Pacific East Division have been discussing solutions together and with the Overwatch League," a Guangzhou Charge representative wrote on Twitter. "The reality is that the situation is unpredictable, complex and urgent - we hope our fans can understand what the Chinese teams and the league are faced with."

Esports events are not the only ones to suffer from the outbreak. China's football league and the World Indoor Athletics Championships have been postponed while lots of other sporting competitions for tennis, boxing, skiing and basketball have been pushed back too.

What's the deal with coronavirus?

Coronavirus originated in Wuhan City, China - It has since spread to every region of China, with the majority of cases remaining in China's Hubei province, where Wuhan is located.

In the past few days, the number of infected patients has increased, and there are now cases in 18 other countries.

However, there have been no confirmed cases in the UK so far and UK citizens in Wuhan are being flown back to Britain to be cared for.

The World Health Organisation has declared coronavirus a global health emergency - which means it can give more help to poorer countries to deal with the outbreak.

The organisation also praised Chinese authorities for the work they are doing to try to manage the virus.