The Maybank Championship, scheduled to take place at Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, between April 16 and 19, and the Volvo China Open, due to take place between April 23 and 26, at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen in China have both been postponed due to the outbreak of the illness.

Title sponsor Maybank requested the postponement of the event in Malaysia, while the decision to cancel the tournament in China was made after a consultation with tournament stakeholders, sponsors and promoters.

It is hoped that both tournaments can be rescheduled for later in the year.

“The wellbeing of our players, spectators and staff is always our absolute priority," said European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley.

"While it is therefore regrettable that the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open have been postponed, we feel this is the correct course of action at this time. 

"We are currently investigating alternative dates for both events.”

Many other sporting events scheduled to be held in China over the next few months have already been postponed due to the outbreak, including the World Indoor Athletics Championships, Formula One's Chinese Grand Prix and the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit.

So far more than 1,500 people have died from the outbreak which has infected nearly 67,000 in China and more than 500 people in 24 other countries.