Covid could be stopping the Premier League, as several Chelsea players have tested positive. Leicester v Tottenham was therefore postponed four times in five days.
Three Chelsea players have tested positive for coronavirus making the Blues the latest Premier League club to see cases emerge among their playing squad – but Thursday night’s clash with Everton is still going ahead.
Leicester’s top flight clash with Tottenham, and Saturday matches between Sheffield Wednesday and Accrington and Crawley’s encounter with Oldham Athletic have all been called off on Thursday, with officials expecting many more to follow suit.
Sportsmail had revealed that some players were not willing to get vaccinated. A mere third of top-flight footballers were double jabbed as of the beginning October.
Sports fans have also claimed there were ‘no real checks’ being made on their vaccination status or negative lateral flow tests at London’s Emirates Stadium and Selhurst Park Stadium yesterday.
Large gatherings are a result of MPs approving mandatory Covid passes to sporting events with over 10,000 spectators under new Plan B’ guidelines. These were in response to the rapid rise in Omicron variant transmission.
Last year, Liverpool’s Champions League match at Anfield against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of its Champions League playoffs, was just prior to the first lockdown. This ‘led to 41 additional death’ from coronavirus.
The Omicron surge has caused football to prepare for over a dozen matches being postponed.
Omicron has seen a significant increase in cases in the UK. Wednesday saw 78,610 positive tests – the highest number of people ever tested since the outbreak.
Covid may have stopped the Premier League as many Chelsea players are positive. This means that Leicester v Tottenham is now the fourth postponed match in just five days. Watford supporters (above), travelled from Watford to Burnley to see their match be delayed this week.
Three Chelsea players were positive for coronavirus. This makes the Blues the latest Premier League team to experience cases. But, Thursday’s match against Everton will still go ahead
Chelsea already have Mateo Kovacic in isolation after he tested positive for Covid last week – with Thomas Tuchel’s plans serious disrupted for the Stamford Bridge clash.
Three more Blues players are now infected with the virus, following a Wednesday training session.
Chelsea has retested their remaining squad members this afternoon and was relieved to find that the virus is not spreading further.
Premier League was severely affected by this new variant, which saw several matches cancelled as a result of outbreaks at different clubs.
After the opposition closed their training center in preparation for the match, Brentford’s game at Manchester United was postponed to January 1.
Burnley’s Wednesday match against Watford was called off on Wednesday, two hours prior to kick-off due to an outbreak of the Hornets in their team.
After both Tottenhams and Leicester had rejected appeals earlier in the week, Leicester submitted a request to the Premier League to postpone their match against Spurs on Thursday morning. In an effort to contain the spread of the disease, both Leicester and Tottenham have closed their training facilities.
The Premier League is holding daily briefings, while the League Managers’ Association is in regular dialogue with the top flight and EFL as managers seek clarity on a rapidly worsening situation.
The Premier League, EFL and EFL both want this campaign to continue but there’s a rising belief by club medics that it will be stopped.
Burnley’s Wednesday match against Watford was cancelled two hours prior to kick-off due to an outbreak of the Hornets (pictured).
After being tested positive, Chelsea has already got Mateo Kovacic as a Chelsea midfielder.
One well-placed, senior official has said that they are expecting ‘at least 12 more’ requests for postponements.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has already called for this week’s games to be called off and his voice is set to be joined by others across the game. Before their Saturday trip to Southampton, the Bees currently have 13 cases between staff and players.
It comes after Boris Johnson today denied imposing a ‘lockdown by stealth’ as Professor Chris Whitty faced a Tory backlash after telling the nation to restrict socialising in the run up to Christmas.
The Prime Minister said this morning that ‘we have got to be very cautious’ because of the spread of the Omicron variant but he insisted ‘we don’t want to make your choices for you about your social life, we are not closing things’.
Professor Whitty from England, the Chief Medical Officer of England, caused fury among Tory MPs last night by using a Downing Street press conference in which he urged people to prioritize their social contact over others for the next few days.
Many Britons will be making adjustments to their Christmas plans to make sure they see family members on Christmas Day.
Although Mr Johnson didn’t tell anyone to cancel their plans last night, he did warn people and urge caution. Prof Whitty however went further by advising people not to socialize as much.
These comments were triggered a ‘tsunami of cancellations’ for pubs and restaurants as many people are now voluntarily staying at home in a bid to avoid catching coronavirus. Anyone with a positive test from yesterday must isolate for 10 days. This will force them to miss the festivities.
The hospitality industry has accused Mr Johnson of imposing a ‘lockdown by stealth’ and is demanding the Government urgently bring forward fresh financial support to help the sector survive.
Gillian Keegan, Health Minister, today stated that the government is not planning to place any further restrictions between now and Christmas Day.
However, she stated that Johnson “will not hesitate” to recall Parliament in the holiday period if necessary to curb growing fear about an imminent rollout of a Plan C.
MPs voted in favour of Mr Johnson’s Plan B measures of compulsory face masks and Covid passes for nightclubs and large venues on Tuesday evening but the PM suffered a huge Tory rebellion.
According to reports, Prof Whitty held a conference call with 80 members of the cross-party group before the election. He discussed the dangers posed by Omicron and Tory rebels claimed that his remarks had in fact facilitated the rebellion.
A rebel claimed that Prof Whitty helped his case because “he said that nothing that we were voting would alter the size the peak of infected.”
England’s Chief Medicine Officer Professor Chris Whitty is urging people to avoid socializing over festive season. This has provoked Tory fury
Boris Johnson is pictured today during a Ramsgate vaccination center visit. He denies accusations by the hospitality industry that Johnson has placed a lockdown by stealth
These are the latest developments in coronavirus
- Chris Whitty warned of’serious concern’ due to a host of promising data suggesting Omicron might cause milder cases.
- Boris Johnson defended his staff who were accused of holding law-breaking parties on Downing Street last year during lockdown;
- According to the Prime Minister, children 12-15 years of age will get their second vaccination starting Monday in an effort to combat Omicron.
- Ministers did not guarantee schools would reopen following Christmas amid concerns about mass remote learning.
- Official data shows that more than half of the Covid ‘patients currently in hospitals are being treated for other conditions.
- Britain’s booster vaccination campaign has gotten off to a flying start yesterday with an unprecedented 611,000 Covid jabs being distributed.
- Royal Mail and public health officials announced plans to increase PCR and lateral flow deliveries to combat the Covid supply crisis.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in Ramsgate this morning, Mr Johnson said: ‘What we are saying and we are all saying the same thing is that Omicron is spreading very fast and we have got to be very cautious and that is why we are implementing Plan B but also making sure that we get everybody boosted as fast as we possibly can.
“I believe Chris Whitty, me, and others are saying that we do not want you to decide what your social life looks like. We aren’t closing the loop.
“But, what we’re saying is that people need to be careful and should consider their Christmas activities.
“Nobody wants Omicron to make them sick, so they are forced to take it easy. However, everyone can get their Omicron boosted right away. This will ensure that you get back to your normal life.
The PM was asked whether he has imposed a lockdown by stealth after a spate of cancellations in hospitality businesses.
We aren’t saying that we will cancel any stuff. You are not locking anything down. The fastest way to return to normality and get boosted is the best.
Prof Whitty said last night that a rise in Omicron hospitalisations is ‘nailed on’ after cases hit a record high yesterday, telling a televised No 10 press briefing: ‘I think that what most people are doing is – and I would think this seems very sensible – is prioritising the social interactions that really matter to them and, to project those ones, de-prioritising ones that matter much less to them.’
After weeks of refusing admitting that Christmas plans might be in danger, Johnson advised the nation to “think carefully” before heading out on the holiday season.
Independent SAGE, a group composed of doctors and scientists has demanded a 10-day shutdown. This would include bans on mixing households and closure of all hospitality businesses.