Bolivia has postponed its presidential election initially scheduled for 3 May for an indefinite period of time over the new coronavirus pandemic, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
"The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has decided as an exceptional measure to suspend ... preparations for the election for 14 days effective 00:00 Sunday, 22 March", the statement said.
Earlier, however, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal's chief, Salvador Romero, said that preparations for the presidential election run as scheduled.
So far, Bolivia has registered at least 19 cases of the novel coronavirus. In Latin America, Brazil remains the country worst hit by the disease.
To prevent the spread of the virus, Bolivia has suspended air traffic with Europe, where the epicentre of COVID-19 has apparently shifted to from China.
Globally, more than 234,000 people have been infected with the virus, and over 9,800 have died, according to the latest situation update by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
