London could end up hosting this year's Olympic Games if they are forced to move due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The global sporting event is due to hosted by Tokyo, Japan in the summer but several recent sporting events in Asia such as the Tokyo marathon and Chinese Grand Prix have been cancelled over fears they'll help spread the virus.

Coronavirus has been declared a global health emergency with 75,300 confirmed cases and over 2,000 deaths as of Wednesday, February 19, and the disruption it has caused has cast a doubt over Tokyo 2020.

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Shaun Bailey, the conservative mayoral candidate, has come out in support of 2012 hosts London taking over the mantle of 2020 hosts, if the virus prevented the games from taking place in Japan.

Bailey told CityAM that ""Given the ongoing disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak, I urge the Olympic Committee to seriously consider how London could stand ready to host the Olympics should the need arise."

“We have the infrastructure and the experience, and if I am elected I will make sure London is ready to host the biggest sporting celebration again, if we are called on in an hour of need.”

Just nine of the 75,000 infected so far have been in the UK, and there hasn't been a new case in several days.

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan said everyone was working towards a "fantastic Tokyo 2020" but in the unlikely event that it be required, "London, as it has done throughout history, will do its best to step up to the plate."

The organisers of Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC), have insisted that cancellation is not being considered and that the games are "on track."

But one respected Japanese virologist, Dr Hitoshi Oshitani, said that if the Olympic Games were held tomorrow, they would be cancelled.

No Olympics has ever been cancelled or postponed by anything other than war, and some have also referenced a similar outbreak of the Zika virus in 2016, with a huge clamour for the Rio Olympic Games to be cancelled, but they went ahead without a problem.

Dr Brian McCloskey, former public health director for London 2012, said he had been told the first case of coronavirus in Tokyo was detected by the surveillance system set up as part of Olympics planning.

"The system we put in place in London to ensure we could detect an unusual disease outbreak happening was something we shared with the Japanese organising committee and the ministry of health in Tokyo," he said.

On whether there will be a deadline to make a decision, McCloskey said: "Essentially they can make the decision any time they like up until the day of the opening ceremony, but in reality teams will be coming into Japan for their training camps from several months before the Games start.

"I think by that stage it is unlikely people will want to change their mind after the teams have arrived in the country."