More unfortunate news regarding Covid-19 was announced today.
Sadly for all the marathoners who’ve been training hard for the Osim Sundown Marathon, it was announced yesterday (12 Mar) that it has been cancelled for this year.
This decision comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that Covid-19 is now a pandemic.
Read on for more details.
The Osim Sundown Marathon was initially scheduled to be held on 23 May.
However, the organisers of the event made the decision to cancel it completely for the safety of all participants, in light of Covid-19 being a pandemic.
A spokesperson from the event told The Straits Times (ST),
This decision is not made lightly. This is the first time in our 13-year history that we have to cancel a race.
He mentioned how the event hosts around 25,000 runners each year, coming from more than 30 countries.
Seeing as how the event is both international and large-scaled, it just wouldn’t be wise to hold it right now, as it could pose a risk for yet another huge cluster of infections.
The event has been completely cancelled this year, but not all is lost for those who signed up.
Participants of this year’s cancelled race are eligible for direct entry into next year’s race.
That gives them more time to train, if they haven’t managed to hit their goal just yet.
On the other hand, refunds are available, and will be handled by the race organiser, Infinitus Productions.
If you wish to seek a refund, you can visit their website here. Just remember to submit your request for refund by 31 Mar.
ST reported that multiple other running and sporting events have been postponed due to the current situation.
For instance, the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge has been postponed from 8 Apr to 26 Nov, and the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens has been pushed back from 11-12 Apr to Oct.
The Catholic Church in Singapore rescinded its former announcement of masses restarting on 14 Mar as well, after news of the SAFRA Jurong cluster.
With so many events being put off, it’s clear that we need to buckle down and take the Covid-19 situation even more seriously than before.
Now more than ever, we have to remain vigilant and calm.
Plans for increased precautionary measures are on the way, and we should be prepared to follow them to a tee, even if they’re inconvenient.
Featured image adapted from Asia 361.
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