COVID-19/Coronavirus update


March 12, 2020

The health and safety of the whole Brighton & Hove AC community, whether you’re an athlete, coach, official or supporter is our main priority. Please be assured that we are keeping up to date with the latest guidance around the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.

England Athletics has recommended that for now all training and events should continue ‘as you are’, but with precautions taken around hand washing and physical contact. They also say that anyone with flu-like symptoms should stay away from training and events.

Based on the England Athletics statement, we want to ensure that everyone is aware of the following advice from Public Health England (PHE) recommending that the following general cold and flu precautions are taken to help prevent people from catching and spreading COVID-19:

  • cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze. See Catch it, Bin it, Kill it
  • put used tissues in the bin straight away
  • wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available. See hand washing guidance
  • try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell
  • clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
  • do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
  • athletes and runners are entitled, should they wish, not to shake hands or have any other form of physical contact with their training partners, opponents or officials

If you are experiencing difficulty breathing, have a high temperature or cough, please return and stay at home and call NHS 111. Do not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environment. Further information is available on the PHE blog and NHS.UK.

Please return home, stay indoors and avoid contact with other people if you’ve travelled to the UK from the following places, even if you do not have symptoms:

  • anywhere in Italy on or after 9 March
  • specific areas in northern Italy in the last 14 days
  • Iran in the last 14 days
  • Hubei province in China in the last 14 days
  • Daegu, Cheongdo or Gyeongsan in South Korea in the last 14 days

Please return home, stay indoors and avoid contact with other people if you’ve travelled to the UK from the following places in the last 14 days and have a cough, high temperature or shortness of breath, even if your symptoms are mild:

  • Italy (outside specific areas in northern Italy) before 9 March
  • mainland China outside of Hubei province
  • South Korea outside of Daegu, Cheongdo and Gyeongsan
  • Cambodia
  • Hong Kong
  • Japan
  • Laos
  • Macau
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do next. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

Thank you for your cooperation, and we will keep you updated if the guidance around training or competition changes.