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(Reuters) – The Premier League recorded more COVID-19 positives than ever on Tuesday amid match fears in English soccer after game postponements.
The league said 18 people had tested positive for the new coronavirus, the most in a week this season, with the latest Sheffield United reporting several new cases at its camp.
United’s game at Burnley on Tuesday continued, with the club saying those who tested positive had entered a 10-day period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and government guidelines.
The league tested 1,479 players and staff between Dec. 21-27, but did not name the people who tested positive or their clubs.
Since the season began, 131 people in the English top flight have tested positive in 17 rounds of tests. The previous weekly high of 16 positives was between November 9-15.
Manchester City reported numerous positive cases on their team on Monday, days after forward Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker tested positive, forcing the league to postpone their match at Everton.
City’s training ground was closed as a precaution and their match at Chelsea on Sunday remained in doubt, and Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said the match would not continue if it was not safe for both teams.
The postponement was the second this season after an outbreak at Newcastle United forced the league to suspend their match at Aston Villa earlier this month.
Arsenal said their Brazilian defender Gabriel had tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be available for his next two games.
Southampton coach Ralph Hasenhuettl was absent from Tuesday’s home game against West Ham United after he had to isolate himself due to a positive COVID-19 test at home.
Ten of Tuesday’s Football League matches were postponed, including Millwall v Watford in the Championship (second tier), with fears over the FA Cup third round matches in January.
Wensley Tensel, a doctor for the League One Rochdale club, told the BBC that authorities should consider stopping the process as infection levels rose rapidly.
“Should the season continue?” I ask.
“In the middle of a pandemic and the spread and everything that’s happening … we have these level four places where people can’t travel but footballers can come and go and take things to their family, I think it’s probably not be the wisest thing to do right now. “
The Daily Telegraph reported that some Premier League presidents had informally discussed a possible two-week break to “reflect” on next month’s season.
The UK has recorded more than 2.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 71,000 deaths.
Countries around the world closed their borders to Great Britain last week due to fears about a highly infectious new variant of the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair and Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru / Alan Baldwin in London; Edited by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)
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