Coronavirus update 21 March 2020

You’ll have seen the latest Government instructions on closure of venues for public gatherings. Technically speaking, community centres haven’t yet been named as venues which must close to groups. Nor have we received any such instruction from Croydon Council, which owns the Centre. For all practical purposes however, there’s no difference between getting a group of people together in a gym, restaurant, bar, or leisure centre (all now banned), and getting a group of people together in a community centre. It’s clearly the wrong thing to do given the extreme public health emergency we find ourselves in. Gathering in groups has been declared a danger to health as it facilitates the spread of the virus, and will ultimately result in more infections, more pressure on hospitals, and more deaths.

To the best of our knowledge, almost all groups and classes at the Centre have now voluntarily ceased in any case. We’ll continue to keep the Centre cleaned, secure, and will use this opportunity to progress some outstanding maintenance work. If individual keyholders need access to equipment etc., or for specific purposes not involving group meetings, that’s fine. But we must now request that from tonight, no further group meetings or activities take place until the wider Coronavirus restrictions are lifted. It’s miserable, but it’s for our own good, and for the health and wellbeing of the community as a whole. As things stand, that’s all that really matters right now. Please stay safe and well.