Forty-two cases of covid, this is the new record of the English championship announced the Premier League on Monday, December 13. It is the first time that the number of positive cases has been so high since test results began to be published in May 2020.
“Between Monday December 6 and Sunday December 12, 3,805 tests were carried out among the players and staff members. Among them, 42 new tests came back positive”, the Premier League said in a statement.
Only a dozen cases were reported last week, but outbreaks of Covid have since appeared in several top clubs, including Manchester United.
The league has already called on clubs to reinstate health measures like mask wearing and social distancing, as Britain recently enacted new restrictions. The UK currently has around 50,000 daily infections and is facing “an Omicron tidal wave“, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Last week, Tottenham reported thirteen cases among its players and staff, which led to the cancellation of the Europa League Conference game against Rennes and then the trip to Brighton in the league.
Manchester United were also affected and had to shut down their training center for 24 hours. His Brentford game scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed.
The Premier League has confirmed that our game against Brentford on Tuesday has been postponed.#MUFC | #BREMUN
– Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 13, 2021
Leicester traveled to Napoli in the Europa League last week with seven players absent because they were infected with the coronavirus or had symptoms, which did not prevent them from crushing Newcastle 4-0 on Sunday.
Other clubs, including Norwich and Aston Villa, have also reported several positive cases in their squads.