SPORT has come to a shuddering halt in the wake of the deadly coronavirus.

With football’s Premier League and EFL having already suspended play until at least April 4 on health and safety grounds, the National League followed suit yesterday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement in which he urged people to avoid "mass gatherings".

The Surrey FA and Hampshire FA quickly released statements of their own and shut down the leagues under their jurisdiction, including the Hampshire Premier League, the Aldershot & District League and the Farnham & District Sunday League.

The Sydenhams Wessex League and the Wyvern Combination also confirmed yesterday that they were shutting up shop while the Combined Counties League suspended play last Sunday.

The suspension covers all grassroots football, including youth games, and clubs are urged not to train.

The RFU also announced the suspension of its affiliated leagues, meaning the promotion hopes of Farnham Rugby Club in London 2 South West and Alton in the Hampshire Premiership are very much uncertain.

All governing bodies have said that they will closely monitor the ever-changing situation, but with the scale of the virus expected to increase substantially the suspensions effectively put an end to the current campaigns.

The Aldershot & District Table Tennis League and the Farnham & District Billiards and Snooker League have also suspended play while a spokesman for Alton Runners said the group was waiting on a decision from England Athletics before making concrete plans.* See this week's Herald for reaction to the sporting shutdown.