TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kinmen County’s Magistrate Yang Cheng-wu (楊鎮浯) announced on Thursday (Jan. 13) that the Kinmen Marathon has been postponed, citing a recent outbreak of COVID-19.

The sporting event was originally due to take place on Saturday (Jan. 15). Authorities say it will be held in the autumn of 2022 at the very earliest, depending on the pandemic situation at the time, according to a CNA report.

The fun run group was supposed to take off from the Kinmen County Stadium on Saturday, while the competitive group was due to start from the Kinhu Gymnasium on Sunday. Yang was at a groundbreaking ceremony for a local activity center on Thursday morning when he told reporters that, due to the surging case numbers, the event would be postponed.

Roughly 17,000 runners have registered to participate in the 2022 Kinmen Marathon, including 5,000 in the competitive group and 12,000 in the fun run group. The Kinmen County Government said it will carry out a follow-up related to the announcement and each participant will be notified of the postponement.