Watford and Burnley football clubs have joined the league of Premier League clubs that have members that have tested positive for coronavirus. The two clubs confirmed on Tuesday that the mass coronavirus test carried out on the clubs returned some negative results.
This is coming 48 hours after the Premier League conducted coronavirus test on 748 playing and non-playing staff of the 20 clubs in the Premier League. An earlier statement from the league disclosed that 6 out of the 748 test conducted returned positive but failed to mention the name of the clubs nor the name of the victims.
Watford has three confirmed cases
A statement from Watford confirmed that one of the club’s players and two non-playing staff tested positive for the virus. The club also failed to reveal the identity of the player and the two backroom staff that tested positive.
“All three have asked that medical confidentiality be respected and, therefore, the club will not be naming those involved”, the club’s statement said.
“Strict adherence to the Premier League guidelines has ensured the training ground remains virus-free and a safe environment for the players to continue to work. The club will continue to liaise closely with the affected person and there will be no further comment.”
ℹ️ Watford Football Club confirms that three people have tested positive for the Covid-19 virus following testing at the training ground over the past 48 hours.
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) May 19, 2020
Burnley Assistant Coach Down with Coronavirus
Meanwhile, Burnley has confirmed that the assistant coach of the club, Ian Woan had tested positive for coronavirus. The club issued a statement hours after the results of the test conducted on the team on Sunday were released on Tuesday.
“Burnley football club can confirm that after completing a Covid-19 test on Sunday, 17th May, assistant manager Ian Woan has tested positive,” the club said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.
Apparently, Ian Woan is one of the 6 people who tested positive during the mass testing overseen by the Premier League on Sunday.
Recall that mass testing was a part of the requirement for the resumption of training in small groups in the Premier League. This training commenced on Tuesday and it is permitted to be done under stringent social distancing guidelines and no body contact is allowed.
After this phase, the next phase will be training in groups where body contact will be allowed. And then full team training will resume which will usher in the restart of the 2019-2020 season which has been suspended since March.
For the fact that these playing and non-playing staff tested positive for the virus, won’t lead to the disruption of the ongoing plan. Those who have tested positive will only have to self-isolate until subsequent tests return negative at least twice in a roll.
However, the results of the mass test could elevate the fear of those Premier League players who don’t like the idea of returning to training or even restarting the season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Recall that a number of players have publicly spoken out against the restart, citing a variety of concerns.
Yet, the Premier League has continued to assure them that they have nothing to worry about as far as they play their parts by obeying the social distancing guidelines.
