Sheffield Wednesday doctor speaks out on EFL testing amid coronavirus spike concerns
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A ‘significant number’ of Wednesday figures tested positive last week and the training ground will remain closed until next Wednesday at the earliest.
A spike in the number of cases across the EFL has taken place. Players and staff at Derby County, Wednesday’s opponents last weekend, are isolating, as are a number of Championship figures including Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who has also tested positive.
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Hide AdNorwich City returned three positive cases earlier today. There are 112 cases in total across 3,507 players and staff across 66 EFL clubs.
There has been widespread speculation over whether football will or should continue given these findings.
Dr Richard Higgins, the long-time club doctor at Sheffield Wednesday, spoke in conjunction with Sheffield-based Dr Subhashis Basu in their roles as chief medical advisors to the EFL.
A statement said: “Today’s results reflect the current speed at which the virus is spreading amid the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19 but the low reported numbers across the overwhelming majority of Clubs means we remain confident that our protocols continue to mitigate against the spread of infection as intended.
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Hide Ad“The protocols, supported by the Clubs and government, are allowing us to continue playing fixtures as scheduled but we cannot be complacent, which is why recently enhanced matchday and non-matchday COVID protocols have been issued to underpin the re-introduction of a League wide testing programme which commences next week.
“Medical advice continues to support that following these protocols is the most successful route to mitigating against the spread of infection.”