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The trip from Fulham to the Premier League to Burnley that was scheduled to start at 12pm GMT on Sunday has become the third Premier League game in a week postponed due to new cases of COVID-19 at the London club, the league said Saturday.
The move comes after Fulham’s away game against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday was also canceled due to a “significant increase” in positive COVID-19 cases within their camp.
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Fulham asked the Premier League to reorganize Burnley’s game after the latest round of testing revealed a further increase in positive COVID-19 cases.
“With the health of the players and staff as a priority, the League and Fulham will agree on an additional action plan to control the outbreak and allow the club to safely resume its season,” the Premier League said in a statement.
“Players and staff will now be retested as part of a revised testing program.”
The match becomes the fourth English top flight to be postponed due to COVID-19 cases since early December, with Manchester City and Newcastle United also reporting multiple positive cases.
Newcastle’s clash with Aston Villa, initially scheduled for December 1, was postponed, while City’s visit to Everton on December 30 was also called off.
The league, however, plans to continue as scheduled.
“With a low number of positive tests in the overwhelming majority of clubs, the League continues to rely on its COVID-19 protocols, fully supported by the Government, to allow matches to be played as scheduled,” said the Premier League.
The country is battling a new variant of the virus and over the past few weeks Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered millions of people to live under the strictest restrictions to slow its spread after the number of cases rose dramatically.
The UK has had more than 2.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and recorded more than 74,000 deaths.
