As public health officials worldwide come to grips with the best methods of slowing the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) there are inevitable questions being raised on the changes to policy and advice might have in a huge number of areas of life, including motorsport of course.
Amongst the most recent communications FIA WEC and ELMS competitors have been updated with the process being followed to assess the level of risk, the first meeting of a Working Group met earlier this week hearing government level advice and guidance but without any current pressure to put any currently planned events in question.
IMSA has just released their advice on their own forthcoming events, including the 12 Hours of Sebring/ WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring event.
“Given developments with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and our upcoming events with Ferrari Racing Days at Road Atlanta and the IMSA Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts along with the FIA WEC 1,000 Miles of Sebring, we wanted to update you on our activities and precautions related to this emerging situation.
The health, safety and well-being of our industry, employees, fans and everyone associated with our events remain our top priority. We are actively monitoring this situation and are closely following updates from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and The World Health Organization (“WHO”), as well as communicating with federal, state and local authorities.
“As part of this process, we have assembled a senior leadership task force that is meeting regularly and reviewing updates from our discussions with these authorities. It is through this process that we will continue to assess this situation and keep everyone informed as to any prospective operational or scheduling changes.
“We are asking fans, employees and partners to follow basic hygiene precautions as recommended by the CDC, such as frequent handwashing, use of hand sanitizer and covering coughs and sneezes appropriately.
“At this time, there are no changes to regular operations and our competition schedule across all series remains unchanged.
“We will continue to work closely with international and local authorities where we race to assess each situation correctly. We understand this situation is of great concern to your employees and partners and we will communicate any changes as soon as such is decided. We encourage you to keep informed of developments through the official CDC (www.cdc.gov) and WHO (www.who.int) updates.”
