"Football is not more important than people's lives."
That was the message from Newcastle United midfielder this morning after Premier League fixtures were suspended until at least April 3 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Premier League had originally planned for this weekend's fixtures to go ahead as normal but conducted an emergency meeting after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for Covid-19.
Leicester City have placed three players into self-isolation after they displayed symptoms, while Everton is on lockdown after a first team player displayed symptoms of coronavirus.
Bournemouth have also announced this morning that five of its employees are currently self-isolating having displayed symptoms consistent with Covid-19.
Newcastle manager Steve Bruce confirmed this morning that no Magpies players had shown any symptoms of Covid-19 but he would back any suspension of Premier League fixtures.
Tomorrow's scheduled clash against Sheffield United will no longer go ahead as a result of the suspension but Hayden insists the health of staff, players and fans should always come before football.
"It's difficult but I think the most important thing is to just listen to what the authorities say," the former England under-21 international told nufc.co.uk.
"The club and the doctor here have been on it a lot and it's just about keeping safe. At the end of the day, football is important to a lot of people and people love it, but it's not more important than people's lives.
"People's lives are at stake, whether it's the players, the staff, the fans. It's just about making sure everyone's safe and following the right protocol, and then hopefully when we get past it, it will all be good."
Meanwhile, on the pitch, Hayden insists Newcastle's target in the final nine games of the season is to hit 40 points as soon as possible.
"The aim was always to get to 40 points as quickly as possible," Hayden added.
"Whatever happens after that is a bonus. We'd be looking to push forward and get better but the primary focus is safety and getting to 40 points and after that we can build on that and hopefully finish as high as we can."
