Hong Kong Pokémon Championships cancelled over coronavirus fears

A Pokémon Video Game Championships event in Hong Kong has been cancelled seemingly due to fears over the coronavirus.

In a post on the Facebook page for the officially sanctioned event (spotted via Nintendo Soup), its organiser said the cancellation was due to the fact players “may carry infectious viruses”.

The VGC2020 Midseason Showdowns#2 (Winter Series) event was scheduled to take place on February 2.

The Facebook post says a third showdowns event on February 9 is currently still scheduled to take place, while no mention is made of a fourth one listed on the official Pokémon website as taking place on February 23.

Hong Kong recently raised its response level to the coronavirus outbreak to “emergency” while extending school holidays and suspending transport links, according to China Daily.

The BBC reports that the coronavirus has killed at least 132 people in China and infected more than 6,000 others since the outbreak in Wuhan.

It was recently reported that coronavirus has caused sales of disease sim Plague Inc to soar in China, but developer Ndemic has warned the game is “not a scientific model.”

“We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities,” it said.

Pricing information for Pokémon Home, the upcoming cloud service which will enable players to store Pokémon and transfer them to Pokémon Sword and Shield, were confirmed on Tuesday alongside further service details. It will cost $2.99 for 30 days, $4.99 for 90 days and $14.99 for a year.