Premier League COVID-19 cases double in a week with record 40 new cases

Premier League on Tuesday confirmed as many as 40 new COVID-19 cases among players and staff as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the United Kingdom. The Premier League tested players and staff twice per week between December 28 and December 31 - out of which 28 new positive cases were found. A total of 12 new cases were found between January 1 and January 3 as England's top-flight continues with its rigorous testing policy.

As many as 1311 players and club staff were tested in the last three days of December 2019 and another 984 players were tested between January 1 and January 3, out of which 40 players and staff were confirmed positive for the virus.

Furthermore, three fixtures have already been affected due to outbreak of coronavirus in some clubs. However, the Premier League continues to trusts its testing policy and is set to be continued, after solid backing by the UK government.

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Premier League statement on COVID-19 tests:

The Premier League is now testing players and club staff twice per week and can today confirm that between Monday 28 December and Thursday 31 December, 1,311 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.

Of these, there were 28 new positive tests.

Between Friday 1 January and Sunday 3 January, 984 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19 and of these, there were 12 new positives.

During this time period, three fixtures were postponed following an increased number of positive tests at two clubs. These matches will be rearranged as soon as possible.

With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the League continues to have confidence in its COVID-19 protocols, fully backed by the Government, to enable fixtures to be played as scheduled.

Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.

No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing.

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Premier League COVID-19 results:

• Round 1: Aug 31-Sep 6 - 1,605 tested, with three testing positive.
• Round 2: Sep 7-13 - 2,131 tested, with four testing positive.
• Round 3: Sep 14-20- 1,574 tested, with three testing positive.
• Round 4: Sep 21-27 - 1,595 tested, with 10 testing positive.
• Round 5: Sep 28-Oct 4 - 1,587 tested, with nine testing positive.
• Round 6: Oct 5-11 - 1,128 tested, with five testing positive.
• Round 7: Oct 12-18 - 1,575 tested, with eight testing positive.
• Round 8: Oct 19-25 - 1,609 tested, with two testing positive.
• Round 9: Oct 26-Nov 1 - 1,446 tested, with four testing positive.
• Round 10: Nov 2-8 - 1,646 tested, with four testing positive.
• Round 11: Nov 9-15 - 1,207 tested, with 16 testing positive.
• Round 12: Nov 16-22 - 1,530 tested, with eight testing positive.
• Round 13: Nov 23-29 - 1,381 tested, with 10 testing positive.
• Round 14: Nov 30-Dec 6 - 1,483 tested, with 14 testing positive.
• Round 15: Dec 7-13 - 1,549 tested, with six testing positive.
• Round 16: Dec 14-20 - 1,569 tested, with seven testing positive
• Round 17: Dec 21-27 - 1,479 tested, with 18 testing positive
• Round 18: Dec 28-Jan 3 - 2,295 tested, with 40 testing positive