Daily testing, staggered meals and more – Inside Sheffield Wednesday’s Covid-19 outbreak

The Owls have had strict measures in place for some time now as they sought to try and combat the spread of the virus at Middlewood Road, with manager, Darren Moore, eager to keep it out of the club.

Moore got hit hard by Covid-19 earlier in the year and was forced to miss a number of games while hospitalised, and for obvious reason had worked hard alongside others at the club to put things in place to combat the situation.

Wednesday also put together a document on their website earlier in the week, before there was any sign of a problem, highlighting extensively how a matchday would play out for supporters. Other clubs in the country have since asked if they could use that as a blueprint for their own situation during Plan B.

But despite all their efforts, Wednesday are now dealing with an outbreak that has led to the postponement of their game against Accrington Stanley. Here’s what we know so far.

Why was the game called off?

It remains to be seen exactly how many cases of Covid-19 Wednesday are dealing with at present, however the fact that their match was called off may suggest that they were unable to put together a squad of 14 players, including a goalkeeper, that the English Football League has since stated is required to complete a fixture.

The Owls acted as quickly as possible once it became apparent that they had a number of positive test results in order to avoid some of the other instances where matches have only been called off on the day of the game.

What has been in place at Middlewood Road?

Moore has spoken at length about what the club has been doing to try and keep the virus out of S6, with The Star understanding that Wednesday have effectively had their training ground on lockdown for almost a year.

Entry to Middlewood Road is restricted, with nobody coming in without express permission, with sanitising happening all over the location and deep cleans being carried out whenever conceivable – such as this weekend.

Wednesday have also been carrying out daily testing for their players – at the cost of the club – and meal times have been staggered to help with the efforts to remain socially distanced when possible. Meetings continue to take place in masks, with as much ventilation as possible.

Owls players have been given 'rightful information' as EFL stat prompts debate

Plan B at Hillsborough

The Owls’ Plan B plans were not something that were put together overnight, and it’s understood that they used what was happening at Cardiff City and Swansea City in Wales as a way to try and be prepared for what could come into place.

Wednesday had already set up the checkpoints that were meant to be in place for the game against Accrington – and were completely prepared for a game to take place at Hillsborough this weekend.

The club made sure to give as much information to the fanbase as they could in terms of how things would work, and also posted a video of Moore explaining how they’d pretty much gone back to Phase 1 regulations at the club. Their video also showed exactly how fans needing to do Covid tests before could go about it.

They’ve been ready to adopt Plan B regulations for some time now, and were in a position to do so swiftly once government protocols on the matter had been communicated.

All of this came not too long after the club had condemned the supporters who surged onto the pitch during the 2-0 win over Crewe Alexandra and surrounded the Owls players to celebrate. The source of the outbreak at SWFC will never be known, but players being swarmed by fans certainly won’t have helped.

What about Boxing Day?

Wednesday are still planning for a Boxing Day game at present, but there will certainly be some fears that – like with all the other teams dealing with the same issues – the match is at risk.

The postponement of this weekend’s encounter with Accrington does give the club some time to try and get things under control and prevent the spread, but – depending on the timing of the positive tests – there is a high chance that a number of players/staff will still be in isolation by the time the pre-Boxing Day tests roll around.

For now it’s very much a ‘play it by ear’ situation as clubs around the country try to salvage one of the most iconic football days of the season, and Wednesday are no different – however no chances will be taken with regards to the health of their fans or their employees.

What did Darren Moore have to say?

Speaking recently about the situation at Wednesday, the Owls boss told the media, “We’ve taken a real step back in making sure that the players are clear in terms of what is required and needed going forward…

“We’ve tried to tighten things up to make sure that we do all that we possibly can here to maintain ourselves going forward.

“We’ve got Richard Higgins, who has been advising the EFL, in house with us now - so what more could we ask for than listening to him? He’s our main Covid officer here, so we’ll follow his advice whenever he sees fit to give it.”

Owls doctor releases statement amid EFL Covid protocol changes