Phuket in Thailand had been due to host the ISU Congress in June ©Getty Images

The International Skating Union (ISU) has asked its members to vote to either postpone or cancel its Congress this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ISU Council decided holding the Congress, scheduled to take place on the Thai island of Phuket from June 8 to 12, was "no longer an option" amid growing international concern over the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Staging the annual gathering of the membership later in 2020 has also been ruled out by the ISU Council.

The organisation has given members until April 6 to decide whether the Congress should be cancelled or postponed, a decision which requires a two-thirds majority of the ISU's electorate.

The ISU has said it will give preference to Phuket if the members vote for a postponement ©Getty Images
The ISU has said it will give preference to Phuket if the members vote for a postponement ©Getty Images

Should the members vote to push the Congress back to June 2021, the ISU has said it will give preference on the hosting rights to Phuket.

The ISU has also offered members the chance to abstain from the vote.

The outbreak of COVID-19, which has so far killed nearly 40,000 people and infected more than 810,000 worldwide, has decimated the sports calendar amid restrictions imposed by Governments in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.

The World Figure Skating Championships, one of the highest-profile winter sports events, is among the major competitions to have been cancelled because of the virus.