The Premier League says 16 players and club staff have tested positive during the latest rounds of testing for Covid-19.
The league conducted 3,115 tests across two rounds over the past week.
Between 11 and 14 January there were 10 new positive tests and six more were found during testing between 15 and 17 January.
The number is significantly down on the 36 positive tests following last week’s rounds of testing.
The Premier League has not identified any club affected or given details of any individuals who have tested positive.
The results, the lowest figure reported in the English top flight since 20 December, came in a week where Aston Villa had two matches postponed because of a Covid outbreak at the club.
There was also renewed scrutiny of footballer’s behaviour during the pandemic, with goal celebrations – and the lack of social distancing often associated with it – creating widespread debate.
While footballers were reminded that “handshakes, high fives and hugs must be avoided”, their conduct was not curbed in many instances during weekend fixtures.
| Weekly breakdown of PL Covid-19 testing | ||
|---|---|---|
| Week | Number of tests conducted | Number of positive results |
| 1 (31 Aug-6 Sep) | 1,605 | 3 |
| 2 (7-13 Sep) | 2,131 | 4 |
| 3 (14-20 Sep) | 1,574 | 3 |
| 4 (21-27 Sep) | 1,595 | 10 |
| 5 (28 Sep-4 Oct) | 1,587 | 9 |
| 6 (5-11 Oct) | 1,128 | 5 |
| 7 (12-18 Oct) | 1,575 | 8 |
| 8 (19-25 Oct) | 1,609 | 2 |
| 9 (26 Oct-1 Nov) | 1,446 | 4 |
| 10 (2-8 Nov) | 1,646 | 4 |
| 11 (9-15 Nov) | 1,207 | 16 |
| 12 (16-22 Nov) | 1,530 | 8 |
| 13 (23-29 Nov) | 1,381 | 10 |
| 14 (30 Nov-6 Dec) | 1,483 | 14 |
| 15 (7-13 Dec) | 1,549 | 6 |
| 16 (14-20 Dec) | 1,569 | 7 |
| 17 (21-27 Dec) | 1,479 | 18 |
| 18 (28 Dec-3 Jan) | 2,295 | 40 |
| 19 (4 Jan-10 Jan) | 2,593 | 36 |
| 20 (11 Jan-17 Jan) | 3,115 | 16 |
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