Premier League: COVID-19 cases in English top flight drop for second successive week

London: The Premier League has revealed a drop in the number of positive coronavirus tests among players and staff for a second successive week. There were 72 positive cases in the latest round of testing between 3 and 9 January, an improvement on the 94 recorded in the previous figures. “The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 3 January and Sunday 9 January, 12,973 Covid-19 tests were administered on players and club staff. Of these, there were 72 new positive cases,” a Premier League statement said on Monday. “This is the second week in a row the number of positive results have decreased.” The lower number of positive cases in the English top-flight comes after the Christmas schedule was severely disrupted by postponements. Amid the surge in the Omicron strain across Britain, numerous clubs had games called off due to a combination of rising Covid cases and mounting injuries. Leicester’s trip to Everton on Tuesday has been postponed for a second time after the Foxes successfully applied to the Premier League to have the match rescheduled. The match was originally scheduled for 19 December, only for it to be cancelled when Leicester reported several Covid cases. Despite fielding a side strong enough to beat Watford 4-1 in their FA Cup third round tie on Saturday, Leicester said Covid problems, injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations had left them short. The Premier League assesses applications for postponements on a case-by-case basis, including the ability of a club to field a team and the severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club.