Berlin, Apr 22 (IANS): The Berlin Marathon, scheduled for September 27, has been postponed due to a government ban on mass gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have learned from the press conference of the Berlin Senate on April 21, 2020, that according to the Containment Ordinance, all events with more than 5,000 persons will be prohibited until October 24, 2020," the organisers said in a statement on Tuesday.

"This applies to many of our events, but especially to the Berlin Marathon, which cannot take place on September 26 and 27, 2020, as planned," it added.

The organisers, however, have not given any new date for the event.

Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele won the race for the second time in 2019, missing out on the world record by just two seconds.

Many sporting events, across the world, have been postponed or even cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak which has so far claimed more than 1.7 lakh lives globally.