Arsenal and Sheffield United have announced measures designed to minimise the financial impact of coronavirus while the Rugby Football Union has turned Twickenham into a COVID-19 drive-through testing programme.

After fellow Premier League clubs Southampton and West Ham announced wage deferral agreements with their players, the Gunners said their first-team squad, plus manager Mikel Arteta and key coaching staff have agreed a 12.5 per cent pay cut.

Arsenal say they have reached a "voluntary agreement with our first-team players, head coach and core coaching staff to help support the club at this critical time" following "positive and constructive discussions".

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder and chief executive officer Stephen Bettis have also agreed a deferral in wages and relevant bonus payments.

The pair have been joined by senior coaching staff, who have also agreed to the deferrals for the next six months to assist United "with retaining staff and continuing to pay 100 per cent of their salaries during this difficult period".

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned that even action behind closed doors might be too risky during long-term social distancing as she told Scottish sports fans not to expect mass gatherings to resume any time soon.

Sturgeon admitted some form of social distancing could be required until a vaccine is ready, meaning the prospect of thousands of fans gathering at sporting events in Scotland could be ruled out for an estimated 18 months.

When asked about the prospect of crowds or closed-door events before a vaccine, Sturgeon said at the Scottish government's daily briefing: "I'm not yet in a position to give you dates on when things will start again and in what order things start to go back to normal.

The Proteas were due to visit the island for three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals, the latter series forming part of the International Cricket Council's new one-day league.

World number one Novak Djokovic's opposition to vaccines could stand in the way of his return to tennis once it resumes from the coronavirus pandemic.

A push is growing for all players to be vaccinated when tennis starts again, provided a vaccination is produced by then.

"Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel," Djokovic said in a live Facebook chat with several fellow Serbian athletes on Sunday.

"But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision."