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Surge in positive Covid tests continues as the Premier League confirms RECORD 103 cases from latest round of testing amid a raft of fixtures being postponed over the festive period
- The Premier League have confirmed a record 103 positive Covid-19 cases
- That figure goes up from 90 positive tests last week which was also a record
- Covid-19 continued to impact football with games being postponed
- Leeds v Aston Villa and Arsenal v Wolves on the 28th have both been postponed
A record 103 positive COVID-19 cases were found among players and staff in the Premier League over the past week.
The recent resurgence in spiralling positive tests has played havoc with the festive period leading to matches being postponed.
Three games on Boxing Day including Liverpool’s clash with Leeds were called off due to outbreaks at clubs, with two further games called off on December 28.
The Premier League have recorded 103 new Covid-19 positive tests over the past week
There have also been a smaller amount of cases at teams that have not had their games postponed.
A Premier League statement read: ‘The safety of everyone is a priority and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in response to the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
‘The league has reverted to its emergency measures, and has increased testing of players and club staff to daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests, having previously carried out lateral-flow testing twice a week.
Positive cases across the Premier League have jumped up for the sixth week in a row (Premier League chief executive Richard Marsters pictured)
The action has continued despite a number of games getting called off over the festive period
‘The league can today confirm that between Monday 20 December and Sunday 26 December, 15,186 COVID-19 tests were administered on players and club staff. Of these, there were 103 new positive cases.’
It is the sixth week in succession that the number of positive cases in the Premier League have increased.
The first big jump came during the week of December 6 to 12 – with 42 positive cases compared to 12 the week before.
Then last week the cases were more than double of the prior week with 90 new cases.
The Premier League also confirmed last week that 92 per cent of players and staff have now received either their first, second or third vaccination dose, with 77 per cent of stars double-jabbed.
Arsenal v Wolves and Aston Villa v Leeds on the 28th have been postponed due to positive cases
This is up from 68 per cent, a figure released back in October.
In an official statement, the top-flight confirmed that 84 per cent of players are ‘on the vaccination journey’, referring to them having at least one dose. On the flip side, however, 16 per cent of players were still yet to receive their first dosage.
The numbers among the 20 elite clubs in England pale in comparison to the other top leagues across Europe. In Germany, the Bundesliga revealed that 94 per cent of players and staff are vaccinated, while Italy’s Serie A vaccination rate is 98 per cent.
Despite rising cases and matches getting postponed, the Premier League decided to continue as normal rather than put action on hold altogether.
This was despite some managers questioning whether there should have been a break, with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe debating the ‘integrity’ of the league if some teams were playing while others had their fixtures postponed.
Games on the 28th that have been postponed are Leeds versus Aston Villa and Arsenal’s clash with Wolves.
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