{"id":24601,"date":"2021-12-27T11:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T16:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24601"},"modified":"2021-12-29T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T15:56:08","slug":"record-number-of-coronavirus-cases-reported-by-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24601","title":{"rendered":"Record Number Of Coronavirus Cases Reported By Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It is the highest weekly total since testing figures began being circulated in May last year (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Premier League has announced 103 new coronavirus cases among club players and staff, the highest weekly number recorded since testing figures began being circulated in May last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also confirmed it has reverted to emergency measures following a raft of top-flight postponements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increased testing to daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests have been introduced. Lateral flow testing was previously carried out twice a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe League can today confirm that between Monday 20th December and Sunday 26th December, 15,186 Covid-19 tests were administered on players and club staff. Of these, there were 103 new positive cases,\u201d read a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Premier League\u2019s Covid-19 emergency measures include protocols such as wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing, limiting treatment time, as well as the increased testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe League is continuing to work with clubs to keep people safe by helping mitigate the risks of Covid-19 within their squads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are also liaising closely with the government, local authorities and supporter groups, while being responsive to any future changes to national or local guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

League One AFC Wimbledon, meanwhile, have called for clubs to be \u201cheld to account\u201d over postponing matches for coronavirus-related reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dons\u2019 demand came after their games against Charlton and Portsmouth were postponed because of opposition Covid-19 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matches at Burton, Harrogate, Salford and Scunthorpe were called off on Monday, taking the number of postponements in the English Football League\u2019s midweek program to 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a strongly worded letter to the EFL, AFC Wimbledon chief executive Joe Palmer wrote: \u201cWe are writing to openly express our disappointment over the recent spate of matches that member clubs have been unable to fulfil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also want to take this opportunity to call on the EFL to undertake its due processes and implement the strongest-possible measures to ensure that \u2013 where a club is able to fulfil a fixture \u2013 it does so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFurther, where it is found that a club was unable to fulfil a fixture, they must be held to account for all decisions which led to that position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palmer, who urged the EFL to reintroduce the rule allowing clubs to make substitutions per match, said the Dons had suffered \u201conly\u201d 11 cases of Covid-19 since the Omicron variant had become the prevalent strain of the virus in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not by luck,\u201d the statement added. \u201cThis is down to hard work and spending resources our club ultimately does not have at its disposal. This is the players sacrificing their ability to spend time with their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChristmas gatherings have been cancelled and everyone at the club has played their part; the players have to be truly commended for their commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt significant cost, we have tested players twice weekly since the beginning of the season. In the weeks before the Red Zone protocols were brought into effect, we upped this to three tests per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe then moved to Red Zone protocols with daily testing in the week before the EFL\u2019s announcement of such measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe club has isolated individuals and chosen not to select players for match-day squads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have taken some very difficult decisions to manage our squad, which most likely led to a loss of on-field competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTraining has been impacted by the immediate removal of our under-23 and loan players from our training group (due to the likelihood of exposure to Covid-19 at their non-league loan clubs). If we can make all this work \u2013 on such limited resources \u2013 then so should the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dons accept they are not the only club undertaking these measures, even acknowledging others may have gone further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the club added: \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t sit right that, having gone above and beyond our means to ensure matches can be fulfilled, we will now be at a disadvantage \u2013 trying to navigate a very congested second half of the season with a small squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeanwhile, clubs with larger squads will have the upper hand, having been provided the opportunity to take a more relaxed approach knowing there will be no penalties for conduct that sits outside of the protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n

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