Despite a country-wide lockdown being introduced yesterday, the Premier League and EFL have been allowed to continue. The news of the continuation comes in spite of growing COVID-19 concerns within the Premier League.
In the last round of testing, a record-high 18 positive cases were found in the division. Now, just one more round of testing later, and the number has risen to as high as 40.
28 of those cases came from 1,311 tests between December 28 and December 31 before a further 12 cases were found from 984 tests conducted between January 1 and January 3.
Premier League Records Season-High Positive COVID-19 Cases
Games Beginning to Be Disrupted
At the start of the season, it seemed the Premier League had COVID-19 under control. Now, as we enter the halfway mark, however, the cases are growing by the week and games are beginning to be disrupted.
Already, we have seen Everton vs Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham and Burnley vs Fulham all postponed due to positive cases of COVID-19.
As the cases continue to rise, too, more fixtures will likely be disrupted. It may even get to the point where the Premier League season in its entirety is put on hold- as it was during the first lockdown last season.
Players Must Act Responsibly
For the spectacle of the Premier League to continue its weekly showing, the players must act responsibly. We have already seen Spurs’ Giovani Lo Celso, Erik Lamela and Sergio Reguilion break the rules over Christmas- undoubtedly playing a factor in the rise in cases.
Benjamin Mendy, too, reportedly broke the rules over the festive period. With the season-high number recorded, however, now is the time for players to show responsibility over ignorance. They are in a position of privilege and must realise this before acting with such negligence during this period.
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