London Marathon postponed until October over coronavirus

14 March 2020, 00:28 | Updated: 14 March 2020, 00:47

The London Marathon has been postponed due to coronavirus, it has been confirmed.

The race, which should have taken place on 26 April, It will now take placed on 4 October.

Event director Hugh Brasher said: "The world is in an unprecedented situation grappling with a global pandemic of Covid-19 and public health is everyone's priority.

"We know how disappointing this news will be for so many - the runners who have trained for many months, the thousands of charities for which they are raising funds and the millions who watch the race every year."

He added: "We know that there will be many, many questions from runners, charities and others and we ask you to please bear with us as we work through the detailed planning process to deliver the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon on its new scheduled date.

"We will email all runners and charities today and then update them via email by the end of next week at the latest. We will also post regular updates on our website and social media channels."

The news comes as 11 people in the UK have died from the virus, and there have been 798 confirmed cases.

However, government officials said yesterday that the true total could be more than 5,000 to 10,000 across the country.

There have been 142,000 new cases across the globe, and over 5,000 deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday the UK's coronavirus response plan has moved into the "delay" stage after it proved impossible to contain the spread of COVID-19.