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Last Monday, the Premier League disclosed that 90 new positive COVID-19 cases were discovered among players and club personnel, more than doubling the previous seven-day high.
Such results were expected after a spike in infections forced the cancellation of six games over the weekend and the closure of training grounds by a number of clubs.
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The previous weekly high was 42 positives, as reported last Monday for the previous seven days.
As the new numbers came out, it was revealed that 16% of the league’s players had not yet had their first vaccination during the epidemic.
The Premier League said a record 12,345 COVID-19 tests were carried out from Monday, December 13 to Sunday, December 19, resulting in a clear picture of how widely the impact of the coronavirus is being felt.
The league said, in a statement issued on its website, that players and staff were undergoing daily lateral flow tests and twice-weekly PCR testing as part of emergency steps to deal with the crisis.
The news of the number of positive cases came on the day the Premier League elected to plough on with fixtures rather than choose a ‘circuit-breaker’ spell of no games for a short period in the hope of driving down infections.
Two more rounds of games are scheduled before the end of December; it had been rumoured the games from December 28-30 would be postponed to ease pressure on already stretched squads.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday it would be “impossible” for his team to play all their scheduled games in the coming days, as the virus and illnesses limit his options.
Klopp was without his first-choice midfield trio and key defender Virgil van Dijk for Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham. As well as league games, his team have an EFL Cup quarter-final against Leicester City on Wednesday. They then face Leeds United at Anfield on December 26 before tackling Leicester again, this time in the league, two days later.
The Premier League said it was liaising with government and local authorities, along with supporter groups.
The first signs of supporters staying away from games have been observed, with just 45,421 present for the Tottenham-Liverpool game, around 15,000 down on capacity.
