COVID-19 (Coronavirus) update 16 February

The coming weeks and months are likely to prove critical as the world strives to overcome the continued challenges presented by COVID-19.

Unfortunately, whilst Australia and New Zealand have so far successfully prevented significant levels of infection, both countries are currently experiencing regional lockdowns in response to localised outbreaks. In South Africa, thankfully, cases are dropping rapidly, however the country is still under a significant level of restrictions. And in the northern hemisphere countries that host parkrun events, whilst the vaccine roll-out is progressing, the point at which large public gatherings may resume is far from clear.

Next week, the UK Prime Minister will set out his road map for the gradual easing of restrictions and a return to normal life. Clearly, this announcement will have significant implications for the reopening of parkrun across our 1,100 UK locations, and we very much hope that there will be a place for outdoor physical activity events as the country gets back on its feet.

We know that for the majority of people around the world right now things are tough, and the future remains unclear. But we remain incredibly optimistic that our events will continue to reopen during the course of 2021, and maintain that we have an important role to play in improving public health.

Wherever you are reading this, please be kind to yourself and know that the parkrun family is with you.

#loveparkrun