Vietnam's top-governing body Politburo has approved the postponement of the 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to the second quarter of 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said on Tuesday.

The all-powerful Politburo has also agreed to the cancelation of the 2021 ASEAN Para Games in Vietnam.

Tran Duc Phan, deputy general director of the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, said that the 2021 SEA Games will take place in mid-May, with the exact date pending the determination of the Politburo.

Vietnam will confirm the adjusted schedule with the national Olympic Councils of the 11 SEA Games Federation member countries shortly after.

The biennial games were originally scheduled to be held in Hanoi and 11 other localities from November 21 to December 2 this year but have been postponed since Vietnam began experiencing a flare-up in COVID-19 cases in late April.

The 40-sport event is expected to feature about 20,000 athletes, coaches, and other participants.

Vietnam previously hosted the regional sporting competition in 2003 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. 

The last edition was held in the Philippines in 2019.

Vietnam has recorded 891,389 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave emerged on April 27.

As many as 807,473 of the patients have recovered from the respiratory disease.

The number of daily new cases in the country reached a peak of almost 15,000 in September before dipping to around 3,000 in mid-October.

The nation has so far fully vaccinated over 21.8 million of its 98-million population.

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