Premier League will remove many COVID-19 emergency measures

A shareholders' meeting on Thursday (February 10) has decided that English Premier League will remove a number of emergency measures related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The United Kingdom was one of the countries that faced the wrath of the Omicron variant as Covid cases continued to rise in the UK after the 'variant of concern' was first detected last year in November.

In December and January, more than 20 Premier League games were called off due to COVID-19 outbreaks at several clubs. More than 100 cases were reported over the Christmas period as the teams didn't even have enough players to fulfil fixtures.

To tackle the situation, the League had adopted several emergency measures such as increased testing of players and club staff, which included both lateral flow and PCR testing.

However, the number of cases has since come down to manageable levels and the League said lateral-flow testing "will revert to twice weekly from Monday".

The League said, "While the requirement to ensure social distancing indoors is maintained, restrictions such as wearing face coverings in indoor areas and limiting treatment time will be removed."

"The Premier League's COVID-19 Emergency Measures remain under regular review, with the aim of them expiring at the end of this month.," it added.

Also, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hinted that there could be an early end to all coronavirus restrictions in the country if cases continue to fall.The government could remove the legal requirement to self-isolate for positive Covid cases.

"Provided the current encouraging trends in the data continue, it is my expectation that we will be able to end the last domestic restrictions - including the legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive - a full month early," Johnson said on Wednesday.