BREAKING NEWS: Premier League clubs record EIGHTEEN new Covid positive cases - a new high for football's top division - after Man City game was called off due to five stars contracting the virus
The Premier League has announced 18 new positive Covid-19 tests among players and staff, the highest weekly total since Project Restart.
The latest round of testing saw 1,479 players and staff tested and the results show a sharp increase on last week's total a day after Manchester City's trip to face Everton at Goodison Park was postponed due to an outbreak in City's squad over the Christmas period.
Positive tests reported by City on Monday will not have been included in the latest results and so 13 cases have emerged at other clubs.
The Premier League have reported its highest number of Covid-19 cases since Project Restart
Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus is one of the 18 cases in the latest week of league testing
PREMIER LEAGUE COVID-19 TEST RESULTS FOR 2020-21 SEASON
Round 1: Aug 31-Sep 6 - 1,605 tested, with three testing positive.
Round 2: Sep 7-13 - 2,131 tested, with four testing positive.
Round 3: Sep 14-20- 1,574 tested, with three testing positive.
Round 4: Sep 21-27 - 1,595 tested, with 10 testing positive.
Round 5: Sep 28-Oct 4 - 1,587 tested, with nine testing positive.
Round 6: Oct 5-11 - 1,128 tested, with five testing positive.
Round 7: Oct 12-18 - 1,575 tested, with eight testing positive.
Round 8: Oct 19-25 - 1,609 tested, with two testing positive.
Round 9: Oct 26-Nov 1 - 1,446 tested, with four testing positive.
Round 10: Nov 2-8 - 1,646 tested, with four testing positive.
Round 11: Nov 9-15 - 1,207 tested, with 16 testing positive.
Round 12: Nov 16-22 - 1,530 tested, with eight testing positive.
Round 13: Nov 23-29 - 1,381 tested, with 10 testing positive.
Round 14: Nov 30-Dec 6 - 1,483 tested, with 14 testing positive.
Round 15: Dec 7-13 - 1,549 tested, with six testing positive.
Round 16: Dec 14-20 - 1,569 tested, with seven testing positive
Round 17: Dec 21-27 - 1,479 tested, with 18 testing positive
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ShareCity confirmed they now had more than five cases in a statement following their postponement while Arsenal revealed defender Gabriel Magalhaes had tested positive and was isolating.
Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker were named as the two players in the first round of positive tests and they are two of the 18 cases reported by the League on Tuesday.
Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of 10 days.
City's game against Everton on Monday was postponed due to an increase in positive tests
The identity of those who test positive is not revealed by the Premier League on privacy grounds but clubs have produced statements of their own to clarify absences of first team players if it is virus-related.
The latest results will be worrying as they are the biggest single weekly total since testing began for players and club staff.
It remains unclear how many clubs are affected and whether other clubs are now at risk of having to postpone matches in a bid to get any potential outbreak under control.
Premier League rules state that matches should not be postponed if a team has 14 players which must include any U23 players that have had first team experience in England or abroad.
But in the case of City, a decision was made to postpone and it is expected that the League will have the powers to overrule their own guidelines on a case-by-case basis.
On Monday, the United Kingdom posted its highest daily rate of infection since the pandemic began in March.
The previous highest number of cases in one round of Premier League testing this season was 16, during the week of November 9-15.
Kyle Walker is currently isolating and missed their Premier League game against Newcastle
A Premier League statement read: 'The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 21 December and Sunday 27 December, 1,479 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, there were 18 new positive tests.
'Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.
'The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.
'No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing.'
City officials believe their outbreak has stemmed from a night's stay at a London hotel ahead of last week's Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal.
Subsequently, the virus has now spread within City's bubble - causing their clash at Goodison Park to be postponed and Sunday's big fixture against Chelsea to be called into question.
Reacting to the outbreak at City, a League statement read: 'This rise has created uncertainty and the Premier League Board received medical advice that the match should be postponed. The Board agreed to rearrange the game as a precaution, and further testing will now take place tomorrow.
'The decision has been taken with the health of players and staff the priority.
City's upcoming games against Chelsea and Manchester United are also under threat
'The Premier League continues to have full confidence in its protocols and rules, and the way in which all clubs are implementing them. The League wishes those with COVID-19 a safe and speedy recovery and will rearrange the postponed fixture against Everton in due course.'
City's postponement against Everton is only the second Premier League game that has been called off due to health concerns over the virus.
Rescheduling a number of games in an already truncated season would represent a significant headache, with City still in four competitions.
They have, however, been keen to stress that postponing Monday night's match was the only logical action given the potential ramifications.
City, already six points behind league leaders Liverpool, will now spend the rest of the campaign trying to regain ground in every sense.
Should they go all the way in the Champions League - something they have yet to achieve under Pep Guardiola - they could have to squeeze seven Premier League games into just 16 days in May.
City are already playing catch up in the Premier League as they bid to reclaim their crown
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