National League coronavirus round-up: Hartlepool United's rivals Barnet on the brink after putting 60 non-playing staff on notice of redundancy and Dover Athletic in lockdown

Barnet announced that they are taking ‘emergency measures to preserve the club’ by putting all non-playing staff on notice.

Bees chairman Tony Kleanthous said in a club statement: “Our greatest concern is that within the UK and across the entire world, people are losing loved ones.

“Our sympathies and thoughts go out to everyone affected but right now, I have to focus my attention closer to home and look at the impact it’s having on our Club.

“It is my responsibility to ensure Barnet FC continues to survive and remains financially stable and therefore, I have had to make difficult decisions.

“The knock-on effects are of course heart-breaking for me personally as I am fully aware of how this will impact my phenomenal team of hard-working support staff across the group.”

With no matchday income for the foreseeable future, many clubs will be fighting just to stay afloat. Hartlepool United are set to lose £25,000 for every suspended home match.

Elsewhere, Dover Athletic chairman Jim Parmenter released a statement announcing the suspension of ‘all footballing and social activity’ at the club until further notice.

“Crabble is ‘locked down’ and will not be open for visitors unless it is a vital matter and a prior appointment is made,” the Whites chairman commented.

“I have already made it public that I am very concerned about the dire financial position this places our Club and football at our level in. We are already seeing the effect this is having on employment within the industry.

“It is clear there will be some difficult conversations to be had in the next couple of weeks and nobody should be in any doubt of the hardship this will bring to many people.

I am in constant contact with the League and I am hopeful, although not confident, that financial support may be forthcoming from the Authorities or the Government.

“My focus must be to somehow try to ensure that the club emerges from this able to play football in the future.”