According to Sky Sports Southampton vs Shrewsbury’s FA Cup tie has been postponed after positive Covid-19 cases were detected at the League One club.
Shrewsbury said on Wednesday several players and staff members had tested positive for coronavirus leading to the game against Southampton being postponed for health and safety reasons.
Club Statement: Positive Covid-19 test results. #Salop
— Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsweb) January 6, 2021
The game was scheduled to take place on Saturday until the League One club reported a significant number of positive Covid-19 cases.
Shrewsbury are just one of many teams across the UK to report cases of Covid-19 with Premier League team Aston Villa being among the latest.
Villa announced on Thursday that a serious outbreak of Coronavirus ha been detected at the clubs Bodymoor Heath training facility.
Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2021
In a statement published on their website the club announced: Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.
The BBC reported forty players and club staff had tested positive for the virus over the past week which is more than double the previous weekly high. Now with Villa and Shrewsbuy’s positive results the situation has grown far more severe.
The league were initially only testing once per week but due to the surge in cases across the UK 2,295 tests were conducted in two rounds over the last week to tackle the growing numbers.
The sharp increase in cases has forced British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to announce new lockdown restrictions for the United Kingdom leaving fans wondering if it affects the Premier League.
Thankfully all elite level sports – including the Premier League – are authorised to continue under COVID guidelines as reported by Sky News.