As the Premier League scales up its attempts to address the threat posed by the Omicron form of Covid-19, players and staff must complete a lateral flow test every time they wish to access their club’s training grounds.
In a week when two top-flight matches — Tottenham v Brighton on Sunday and Brentford v Manchester United on Tuesday — were postponed owing to positive Covid instances, top-flight clubs have agreed to tougher procedures.
Anyone intending to join a Premier League training facility is expected to be forced to complete a lateral flow test outside, with twice-weekly PCR testing also being implemented.
The decision to boost testing was made at a club shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday, and it will be used in conjunction with current emergency measures like as facial coverings, restricting time in the treatment room, and observing social separation, which were reinstated last week.
The steps come as the highly transmissible Omicron form of coronavirus emerges as the most common in the UK.
Last week, there were 42 positive Covid instances among Premier League players and staff, the highest in any prior seven-day period, according to the league.
With the season set to enter the hectic holiday schedule, teams are keen to prevent a slew of postponements that would generate a backlog later in the season and jeopardize the competition’s legitimacy.
Widespread postponements might expose the league to reimbursement requests from television partners, who were owed money when the 2019-20 season was halted at the outset of the outbreak.
At their meeting on Tuesday, the league’s clubs reviewed the Covid Plan B regulations, which are slated to take effect in England on Wednesday.
In order to attend stadiums containing more than 10,000 people, fans must provide confirmation of complete immunization or a recent negative lateral flow test.