The World Championships had been scheduled to take place from July 7 to 11 in the Triangle Region.

A decision was taken by the IOF to postpone the event due to the uncertainty over the coronavirus, which has led to numerous countries entering lockdown periods to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The IOF also highlighted concerns over being able to guarantee broad participation and fairness of competition, due to the ongoing restrictions.

The governing body said no new date had yet been set for the postponed World Championships, but several were under consideration.

"Now that the decision has been made to postpone, we feel it is important to inform athletes, teams and all other stakeholders even if the new dates for the World Orienteering Championships have not yet been set," an IOF statement said.

"There are several alternative dates being considered and we will share this information as soon as it becomes available.

"The full focus of the organisation is currently on identifying the new dates.

"The most important factor in determining the new dates is being able to guarantee fair competitions where athletes in the national teams have been able to prepare for a World Championships event on an equal basis."

The IOF added that they would send a questionnaire to member federations with specific questions about the 2020 and 2021 international event calendars.

They have asked for a quick turnaround to help make the best decisions for members, athletes, teams and event organisers.

A decision was taken last month to postpone the first round of the Orienteering World Cup season in Switzerland to 2021.

The IOF have now confirmed the second round of the World Cup, which doubled as the European Championships, has been cancelled.

The event was scheduled to take place at Rakvere in Estonia from August 19 to 23.

The IOF said they were now discussing potential dates in future years with the event organisers.

Cancellation of the competition has led to the IOF confirming the third round of the World Cup in Italy will also not take place.

It means there will be no overall World Cup winners this year, due to the postponement and cancellation of the opening two events.

The World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships, which were planned to be held in the Czech Republic, were also cancelled.

Competition was due to take place between August 17 to 23.

European Youth Orienteering Championships have also informed the IOF of their intention to postpone the event from June 19 to 22.

The event in Hungary could be moved to October 23 to 25, with a final decision due to be made by August 1 at the latest.