A surge of coronavirus cases in South Korea saw the return of Olympic athletes to Jincheon National Training Center postponed ©Wikipedia

A surge in coronavirus cases in South Korea has seen the return of the country's Olympic athletes to Jincheon National Training Center postponed.

Athletes were sent home from the centre in March, following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to 2021.

More than 500 athletes and coaches left the facilities, which were then deep cleaned. 

Following a steady decline of COVID-19 cases in South Korea last month, it was decided the athletes could return by May 12. 

This plan was discarded, however, as reported by Yonhap News Agency. 

Cases have risen again in South Korea and are thought to be linked to people visiting a number of clubs and bars in Seoul's multi-cultural district of Itaewon.

Some sport has resumed in South Korea, but with strict measures in place ©Getty Images
Some sport has resumed in South Korea, but with strict measures in place ©Getty Images

The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee originally changed the return date to Tuesday (May 19), before the plan was indefinitely put on hold. 

When they do return, athletes will have to undergo coronavirus tests. 

A number of sports have resumed in South Korea, such as baseball and football, although these matches are taking place in empty venues. 

There are more than 11,000 cases of coronavirus in South Korea, resulting in 262 deaths. 

Athletes had been training to compete at Tokyo 2020 in sports such as archery, diving, handball, swimming and gymnastics at Jincheon National Training Center.

The Games will now take place from July 23 to August 8 in 2021, however, due to the pandemic.