February's Shotgun World Cup in Morocco has been cancelled ©Getty Images

Next month's Shotgun World Cup in Morocco has been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) said it had been informed by the Royal Moroccan Federation of Shooting Sport that it was calling on the event due to the pandemic.

It had been scheduled to run from February 7 to 18.

Cancellation means there is not a Shotgun World Cup on the ISSF calendar until March, when both Nicosia in Cyprus and Peruvian capital Lima are due to stage tournaments.

Morocco has reported a sharp increase in coronavirus since late December, and on Sunday (January 9) the nation's total number of cases since he start of the pandemic passed the million mark.

Morocco has declared a nationwide health state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic ©Getty Images
Morocco has declared a nationwide health state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic ©Getty Images

In excess of 7,000 new cases were reported yesterday.

Morocco has largely shut its borders in response to the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which is more transmissible.

A nationwide health state of emergency is in place until at least the end of January.