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Edinburgh Marathon has been postponed amid mounting concerns over the spread of coronavirus in the UK.

The event was due to take place across the 23-24 May - with the full marathon, half marathon, team relay, 10k, 5k and junior races - but has been called off, with a new date set to be announced on Monday.

The news comes as mass gatherings are set to be banned across the country from next weekend in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also announced gatherings of more than 500 people would be banned as the virus took hold.

Organisers say they understand the need to ban mass gatherings in the interest of supporting frontline services and the NHS, which are already under immense pressure from dealing with coronavirus.

Neil Kilgour, Edinburgh Marathon’s Race Director said “We are devastated to have to make this decision but we believe that this course of action is in the best interests of our participants, our affiliate charities, the event team who deliver the event and the emergency services who support the event.”

“We are continuing to work closely with the local authorities in Edinburgh and East Lothian, the emergency service teams and our other delivery partners over the coming hours to secure and communicate a new date for the event which we expect to do on Monday.”

“We look forward to seeing the running community come back together, stronger than ever before. The positive nature of this event will once again change lives for the better, raise millions of pounds for charities, and will allow participants to achieve something they never dreamed possible. We will continue to support them with their endeavour during this challenging time”

Jet2 have also announced today that all holidays to Spain and the Canary and Balearic islands are cancelled with "immediate effect" as planes were forced to turn around mid-air.