sortiwa
[ad_1]
Premier League players in tier 4 areas will be tested for Covid-19 twice a week as soon as it is practically possible to do so.
Players in the top flight have been tested on a weekly basis since the start of the 2020-21 season. But testing at clubs in tier 4 areas will revert to the level used during ‘Project Restart’ in the summer. The increased testing will be widened out to clubs in lower-tier areas from next month, it is understood.
The Premier League clubs in tier four are Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham. The Premier League had said when it cut back testing to once a week at the start of this season that it would keep testing levels under review.
The league’s latest figures were released on Monday and showed there were seven positive cases out of 1,569 players and club staff tested.
The EFL has said its clubs will be “reviewing and further strengthening” their coronavirus protocols. It is understood revised protocols include time spent in any indoor environment being kept to a minimum, clubs reviewing the use of gyms and changing and catering facilities, multiple coaches or individual car use being recommended for travel to matches, and limiting social contact with anyone outside of a household bubble over Christmas.
An EFL spokesperson said the next mandated league-wide tests were scheduled for the week beginning 4 January.
Ipswich’s physio Matt Byard has said football “may benefit from a ‘circuit breaker’” after a coronavirus outbreak at the club. Positive tests – including for the manager, Paul Lambert – led to the postponement on Monday of their League One match at home to Northampton on Boxing Day and at AFC Wimbledon on 29 December. The club said five players and two members of staff had tested positive.
Byard said: “Personally, with so many clubs affected by this presently and this new strain development, football may benefit from a ‘circuit breaker’ before a return to playing securely.”
In League One Peterborough, Bristol Rovers and Sunderland have also recently postponed fixtures because of positive tests.
[ad_2]
Source link