A record 103 positive Covid 19 cases were found among players and staff in the Premier League over the past week.
The recent resurgence in spiraling positive tests has played havoc with the festive period leading to matches being postponed.
Three games on Boxing Day including Liverpool’s clash with Leeds were called off due to outbreaks at clubs, with two further games called off on December 28.
There have also been a smaller number of cases at teams that have not had their games postponed.
A Premier League statement read: ‘The safety of everyone is a priority and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in response to the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19”.
‘The league has reverted to its emergency measures, and has increased testing of players and club staff to daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests, having previously carried out lateral-flow testing twice a week”.
‘The league can today confirm that between Monday 20 December and Sunday 26 December, 15,186 COVID-19 tests were administered on players and club staff. Of these, there were 103 new positive cases.’
It is the sixth week in succession that the number of positive cases in the Premier League have increased.
The first big jump came during the week of December 6 to 12 – with 42 positive cases compared to 12 the week before.
Then last week the cases were more than double of the prior week with 90 new cases.
The Premier League also confirmed last week that 92 percent of players and staff have now received either their first, second or third vaccination dose, with 77 percent of stars double-jabbed.
This is up from 68 percent, a figure released back in October.
In an official statement, the top-flight confirmed that 84 percent of players are ‘on the vaccination journey’, referring to them having at least one dose. On the flip side, however, 16 percent of players were still yet to receive their first dosage.
The numbers among the 20 elite clubs in England pale in comparison to the other top leagues across Europe. In Germany, the Bundesliga revealed that 94 percent of players and staff are vaccinated, while Italy’s Serie A vaccination rate is 98 percent.
Despite rising cases and matches getting postponed, the Premier League decided to continue as normal rather than put action on hold altogether.
This was despite some managers questioning whether there should have been a break, with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe debating the ‘integrity’ of the league if some teams were playing while others had their fixtures postponed.
Games on the 28th that have been postponed are Leeds versus Aston Villa and Arsenal’s clash with Wolves.