http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/wimbledon/article6603312.ece
Four ball boys sent home from Wimbledon in swine flu scare
(Graham Hughes/The Times)
Officials said there was no threat to the championships
Laura Dixon
Four ball boys have been sent home from Wimbledon with flu-like symptoms amid concerns about a possible swine-flu outbreak at the tennis Championships.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) confirmed today that a number of ball boys and girls had been asked to stay at home after they became unwell.
The scare follows the death on Saturday of a 73-year-old man in Scotland, the second person to die from the disease in Britain.
Although officials could not confirm that the affected ball boys and girls, who are all believed to be about 15, were suffering from swine flu, they advised those suffering from the symptoms - a high temperature, sore throat and cough - to stay at home.
The ball boys and girls, who have not been named, would have been attending some of the world?s top tennis players on the courts.
Last week Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer for England, warned that Britain could soon expect to see a surge of illness, with tens of thousands of cases of swine flu emerging each week by the autumn.
Officials said that they would abandon attempts to contain the spread of the virus in London and the West Midlands, instead opting for a policy of managing the outbreak, in a week in which the Health Protection Agency said there were now 4,250 confirmed cases in the UK.
In a memo to staff, Ian Ritchie, the AELTC chief executive said: ?A small number of our Championships? personnel have reported a flu-like illness and consequently have been asked to stay at home.
?Having consulted closely with the Health Protection Agency, we have been reassured that since the incidence is entirely in line with the wider London community, there is no particular extra risk to all those connected with the event, be they players, media, staff or spectators, and we are able to continue with the Championships as normal.?
Wimbledon officials said the ball boys had not been tested for swine flu, in line with the new recommendations, and played down the threat to the tournament at large.
?It is in the community, it?s in schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn?t have it,? Johnny Perkins, spokesman for the AELTC said.
He said it was ?sensible? to take precautions. ?It is not serious, the incidence in entirely compatible with what we are seeing in the rest of London,? he said.
Although a couple of players had mentioned feeling unwell during the tournament, the AELTC said they would not know - and would not necessarily be told - if any of the players had contracted the virus.
There are 250 ball boys and girls at Wimbledon this year, most of whom come from schools neighbouring the tournament.
Four ball boys sent home from Wimbledon in swine flu scare
(Graham Hughes/The Times)
Officials said there was no threat to the championships
Laura Dixon
Four ball boys have been sent home from Wimbledon with flu-like symptoms amid concerns about a possible swine-flu outbreak at the tennis Championships.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) confirmed today that a number of ball boys and girls had been asked to stay at home after they became unwell.
The scare follows the death on Saturday of a 73-year-old man in Scotland, the second person to die from the disease in Britain.
Although officials could not confirm that the affected ball boys and girls, who are all believed to be about 15, were suffering from swine flu, they advised those suffering from the symptoms - a high temperature, sore throat and cough - to stay at home.
The ball boys and girls, who have not been named, would have been attending some of the world?s top tennis players on the courts.
Last week Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer for England, warned that Britain could soon expect to see a surge of illness, with tens of thousands of cases of swine flu emerging each week by the autumn.
Officials said that they would abandon attempts to contain the spread of the virus in London and the West Midlands, instead opting for a policy of managing the outbreak, in a week in which the Health Protection Agency said there were now 4,250 confirmed cases in the UK.
In a memo to staff, Ian Ritchie, the AELTC chief executive said: ?A small number of our Championships? personnel have reported a flu-like illness and consequently have been asked to stay at home.
?Having consulted closely with the Health Protection Agency, we have been reassured that since the incidence is entirely in line with the wider London community, there is no particular extra risk to all those connected with the event, be they players, media, staff or spectators, and we are able to continue with the Championships as normal.?
Wimbledon officials said the ball boys had not been tested for swine flu, in line with the new recommendations, and played down the threat to the tournament at large.
?It is in the community, it?s in schools, it would be strange in a way if we didn?t have it,? Johnny Perkins, spokesman for the AELTC said.
He said it was ?sensible? to take precautions. ?It is not serious, the incidence in entirely compatible with what we are seeing in the rest of London,? he said.
Although a couple of players had mentioned feeling unwell during the tournament, the AELTC said they would not know - and would not necessarily be told - if any of the players had contracted the virus.
There are 250 ball boys and girls at Wimbledon this year, most of whom come from schools neighbouring the tournament.
