BEVERLY HILLS, January 05, (THEWILL) – The English Premier League (EPL) confirmed on Tuesday that 40 players and club staff tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week. The figure is more than double the previous weekly high of 18 and the highest ever since the regular tests began.
On Monday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced stricter restrictions and enforced lockdowns but the government greenlighted the continuation of elite sport such as football.
The EPL has depended on its testing schedule for the safety of players and staff since the resumption of the league and with the discovery of a new variant of the virus in the UK, increased the test frequency to twice a week, conducting 2,295 tests across two rounds over the past week.
In the space of four days, between December 28 and December 31, 28 players and club staff returned positive samples. To that number, 12 more were added who were confirmed to have returned positive COVID-19 results between January 1 and January 3.
Those affected are currently self-isolating for 10 days according to health and safety regulations.
So far, three scheduled matches have been called off as a result of the outbreaks during that time, at Manchester City and Fulham. The Premier League postponed City’s game at Everton only four hours before it was due to kick-off on Monday, December 28, while Fulham were behind by two matches as their fixtures against both Tottenham and Burnley were called off.
However, the EPL insists that its “confidence” in the health and safety COVID-19 protocols in place across the top flight remains unshaken and so it has “no plans” to pause the season. The evidence supports the league with the majority of clubs still returning low numbers of tests.
That has not quelled the calls for a mid-season break to stem the tide of the spread especially with the more infectious variant. West Bromwich Albion boss Sam Allardyce has been outspoken in asking for a two-week “circuit-breaker” to get a handle on cases.
Pep Guardiola’s City earned a 3-1 victory against Chelsea on Sunday, despite being without six first team players due to coronavirus. Sheffield United continue to play on despite reporting an outbreak at the league’s bottom club.
Relegation-threatened Fulham have not played since a Boxing Day goalless stalemate with Southampton. They are next due to be in action at Saturday’s west London derby with Queen’s Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup. It is not certain if the tie will hold at this point as fresh outbreaks can occur at any time to force another postponement.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
