December 14, 2021, 12:33 PM
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The surge of Covid-19 cases in the UK may affect the English Premier League -- again.
On Dec. 14, The Guardian reported that the football match between Manchester United and Brentford on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning Singapore time) had been called off.
The reason? A "record number" of positive cases were detected among Premier League players and staff.
According to The Guardian, there were 42 positive cases, from both players and officials detected in a single week.
This was more than triple the 12 cases recorded in the previous week.
A statement by Manchester United read:
"Following PCR confirmation of positive LFT (Lateral Flow Test) Covid-19 tests among the first-team staff and players, the outbreak requires ongoing surveillance. A decision was taken to close first-team operations at the Carrington Training Complex for 24 hours to help minimise risk of further infection, and individuals who tested positive are isolating in line with Premier League protocols.
Given cancellation of training and disruption to the squad, and with the health of players and staff the priority, the Club requested the match to be rearranged. The Premier League Board took the decision to postpone based on guidance from medical advisors."
The statement did not name the players affected, or how many cases were detected.
The league's 2019-2020 season was hit by a long postponement as the first Covid wave went global.
Surge of Omicron cases in the UK
The UK is experiencing a sharp rise in the number of Covid cases, with 54,661 new cases announced on Dec. 13.
The UK also recorded 3,137 cases of the Omicron variant on Sunday (Dec. 12).
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently announced new measures that will affect fans attending live football matches.
Fans will have to show proof of a negative Covid test or evidence of at least two vaccine doses before attending a live event.
To combat the spread of the Omicron variant, the UK is also ramping up booster vaccinations in a bid to relieve the pressure on the country's National Health Service.
Seeing the rollout of our booster programme in action today – more than 23 million people across the UK have already come forward to get boosted. We’ll give the NHS everything it needs to deliver millions more boosters in the coming weeks.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 13, 2021
Don’t delay: Get Boosted Now. pic.twitter.com/9PCLcegC9d
Top image from Manchester United's Facebook page.
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