So far at least 170 people been killed by the virus, with just under 8,000 people infected around the world.

Numerous events are being postponed, cancelled or relocated on a daily basis, with the most high-profile so far the World Athletics Indoor Championships, originally scheduled for March in Nanjing. It will now take place in March 2021.

Other sports affected include Alpine skiing, boxing, wrestling, basketball, tennis, ice hockey and diving, while the Chinese women’s football team are currently quarantined in Brisbane. The squad had been in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the virus, earlier this week.

Having travelled to Australia for the final round of the Women’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Football Asian qualifiers, they were told to stay in their inner-city hotel in Brisbane until Wednesday (February 5), putting their opening match with Thailand on Monday (February 3) in jeopardy. 

The situation is currently unresolved, with a decision expected to be made soon. It is likely the tournament will be postponed, allowing China to compete, but the team may have to forfeit their game against Thailand and hope the results in their remaining two matches are enough to see them through into the knock-out stages.

There is also still the possibility they may have to withdraw from the competition fully. China already have a depleted squad anyway, with Wang Shuang and Yao Wei among four players who spent Chinese New Year in Wuhan and therefore remain in the city under isolation.

The tournament had been originally been scheduled to take place in Wuhan but was moved to Nanjing and finally Sydney. Other Olympic qualifying events have also been affected. The International Basketball Federation Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was moved from Foshan to the Serbian capital of Belgrade, while the Asian and Oceania boxing qualifying event, originally due to start in Wuhan on February 3, has now been moved to Amman in Jordan and re-scheduled for March.

Whatever the Football Federation Australia decide to do regarding the women's football qualifiers, coronavirus has undeniably started to have an impact on the upcoming Olympic Games. 

With the crisis seemingly worsening, this may be the start of a major headache for Tokyo 2020. German Olympic Sports Confederation President Alfons Hörman has even claimed the coronavirus is the "greatest threat" to the most prestigious event on the sporting calendar. 

It seems to be a case of history repeating itself. Up until now, Tokyo 2020 organisers have enjoyed a smoother run-up to the Games than Rio 2016, which was struck by issues such as infrastructure delay, safety concerns and water pollution.  

The most pressing concern, however, was the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease Zika in Brazil. Near hysteria surrounded the virus and its possible impact on the Olympics, with some scientists and academics calling for the Games to be cancelled.

A number of athletes dropped out of competition before Rio 2016 began, citing Zika as a primary factor. This included golfers Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, tennis players Milos Raonic and Simona Halep, and American cyclist Tejay van Garderen.

As it turned out, Zika had very little impact on Rio 2016, despite the frenzy in the build-up to the Games. There were no reported cases of the virus among athletes or visitors. This will prove some consolation to Tokyo 2020. 

The impact of Zika on Rio 2016 is also reduced when considering athletes probably used the virus as an excuse to skip the Games, especially the golfers who did not want to participate in a competition with no prize money.   

Another positive is that Japan is not the country of origin of coronavirus, unlike Zika in Brazil, although 12 people in the Olympic host country are confirmed to have been infected by the disease. Stringent measures are in place to contain the virus to ensure this does not spread further, with Tokyo 2020 confirming they are working with authorities to guarantee the safety of everyone during the Games. 

Nonetheless, the virus will be a dark cloud in the relatively clear sky for the upcoming Olympic Games. Qualifying events are already being impacted and is possible that Chinese teams and athletes may not be able to compete for places at Tokyo 2020.

More pressing, however, is the World Health Organization's recent decision to name the coronavirus outbreak an international health emergency, meaning every effort has to be made to ensure the virus does not spread to countries with weaker health systems.

The Olympics are a global event, necessitating international travel from athletes, spectators and media. This, of course, increases interaction between residents of different countries, and subsequently makes the spread of illnesses and viruses more likely. 

WHO's announcement means travel will now be restricted, a significant hindrance to anyone involved in Tokyo 2020.

And for how long for? No one knows. No one is sure how the coronavirus crisis is going to play out, and it is this uncertainty that Tokyo 2020 are going to have to deal with, just like in the run-up to Rio 2016.

With just six months to go until the Games begin, Tokyo 2020 have been handed a new challenge.