(Lucerne) The World University Winter Games scheduled to take place in Switzerland have been canceled to help stop the spread of the new variant of COVID-19.
The organizers of the Lucerne Winter Universiade cited “the highly dramatic developments of the pandemic and the transport restrictions” to justify their decision.
Students from more than 500 universities in more than 50 countries were to compete for the 60 medals at stake from December 11 to 21. Several of the athletes from certain countries, such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, must undergo a 10-day quarantine on their arrival in Switzerland, a new measure adopted by the Swiss government to stop the new Omicron variant. .
The event had already been postponed from January to December due to the pandemic.
The next edition, in 2023, is due to take place in Lake Placid, New York.