Negative lateral flow requirement for jockeys delayed due to shortage of tests

The BHA has announced it will "temporarily defer" its requirement for anyone entering the weighing room in Britain to show a negative lateral flow test (LFT) due to the nationwide difficulty in obtaining the rapid-result tests.

The requirement had been due to come into force at all racecourses in Britain on Wednesday, but concerns had been raised over the ability to source the tests with the Omicron coronavirus variant causing a spike in infections across the United Kingdom.

In an announcement to participants, the BHA said on Saturday: “Recognising the difficulty some participants and officials have had in ordering lateral flow tests, the racing industry Covid-19 group has temporarily deferred the requirement, announced earlier this week, to show a negative lateral flow test to gain entry to the weighing room.

"This pause is to allow participants to secure a supply of tests and we encourage you to continue your efforts to do so. A new implementation date will be announced once LFT supply issues improve.

“If you have been able to obtain tests, we recommend you start testing on a regular basis. While vaccination with a booster remains a key defence against severe illness and death, you may still contract and pass on the virus, hence the value in combining vaccination with regular testing.”

Lateral flow test: difficult to obtain in the past week

The requirement for a negative LFT to enter the weighing room was announced just two days ago, with Dr Jerry Hill, the BHA’s chief medical adviser, stating it was an “important step to help safeguard our people and the racing product” against staff shortages and potential fixture postponements or cancellations, which have impacted sports such as football in recent weeks.

A raft of measures had already been put in place to minimise the chances of spreading the virus, including the usage of Covid certificates and the requests to wear masks and socially distance.

“Covid-19 continues to be a major problem in the UK,” the BHA statement added. “By maintaining some simple protections, we can minimise the risk to ourselves and others of infection, and avoid disruption of the race programme.”

Racecourses in England have faced limited disruption during the latest wave of coronavirus infections, while crowds have been capped at 500 in Scotland and temporarily shut out of venues in Wales.

In Ireland, officials said on Friday there were no plans to implement a similar testing regime to the one proposed by the BHA, with an IHRB spokesperson stating: “At this stage, we're not seeing enough evidence that we need to do that.”

A total of 189,846 people had tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK on Friday, according to the latest government data.

The rate of infection has led to the British Medical Association and Royal College of Nursing to call for health staff to be prioritised for receiving tests to ease staffing issues, while health secretary Sajid Javid said ministers expect to need to "constrain" supply of tests for two weeks to manage surging demand.

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