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LONDON: Elite sport will remain allowed behind closed doors despite UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposing a new month-long lockdown on England on Saturday.
The strict series of measures reintroduced to try to curb the increase in coronavirus infection rates will begin from Thursday, November 5 and will last until December 2.
Pubs and restaurants will close unless they serve take out, while all leisure and entertainment venues and non-essential shops will close.
However, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden confirmed that elite sport will continue to enjoy an exemption to play behind closed doors.
“Travel to a workplace will be allowed,” he tweeted. “This includes (but not exhaustively) the elite sport that is played behind closed doors.”
The 2019/20 Premier League season was suspended for three months between March and June during the UK’s first lockdown to control the virus.
Rugby, tennis, and horse racing are among the other sports that will benefit from high-profile events being allowed to continue behind closed doors.
The season-ending ATP Tour Finals, which will feature players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will be played at the O2 in London from 15-22 November.
“Following the British Prime Minister’s announcement, the ATP Finals will continue as planned behind closed doors,” said an ATP statement.
“We will continue to work with all relevant authorities at both the national and local levels to ensure that all necessary measures are implemented to guarantee the safety of all those involved in the tournament.”
The Rugby Fall Nations Cup will see countries that normally compete in the Six Nations team up with Georgia and Fiji for a four-week tournament starting on November 13 that will replace the normal November internationals.
