Sporting events in Britain are unlikely to be affected by coronavirus in the immediate future, says Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
Governing bodies and broadcasters will meet with government officials later on Monday to discuss the staging of events behind closed doors if the outbreak worsens and mass gatherings are banned.
Newcastle United are waiting to hear the outcome and Steve Bruce has admitted that the prospect of some matches going behind-closed-doors now feels “inevitable” .
Magpies fans will eagerly await news of the meeting as the club has two important home matches in the next fortnight, including the as-yet unscheduled FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester City.
But Dowden insists there is no immediate danger of sporting events being affected in Britain.
Dowden told BBC Radio 5 Live: “At this stage we’re not in the territory of cancelling or postponing events.
“I was at Twickenham [for England v Wales] with the Prime Minister [on Saturday].
“There was a huge crowd of people there. There is no reason why people should not be going to those events. It is very premature to be talking about things like that.”
He added: “That is why I asked the chief medical officer to brief the sporting bodies last week and that is why we will be driven by the advice of the chief medical officer as we continue.
“I do want to emphasise in relation to sporting events, any talk of cancellation is very premature indeed. At the moment there is no evidence to suggest we should be doing that and we don’t have any plans to.”
