Fulham’s Premier League game against Burnley on Sunday has been postponed after the London club reported a fresh outbreak of positive Covid-19 cases.
It is the second Cottagers game to be called off because of coronavirus in the space of five days after Wednesday’s game against Tottenham was also postponed, and is the fourth Premier League game in total in just under a month.
A Fulham statement read: “Following further new positive results returned from the most recent Covid-19 tests, the club can confirm that this Sunday’s away fixture at Burnley has been postponed after discussions with the Premier League and advice from medical teams.
“Those who tested positive are self-isolating in line with UK government and Premier League guidance.
“The welfare of our players, staff and their families continue to be of paramount importance, and we wish those who have tested positive a safe and speedy recovery.”
A Premier League statement added: "After the postponement of their match against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, Fulham’s players and staff were immediately retested and this morning have reported a further increase in positive Covid-19 cases.
“Following Fulham’s request to rearrange the Burnley fixture, the Premier League’s board has taken into consideration further independent medical advice and decided to postpone the match due to the exceptional circumstances of the ongoing outbreak at the club.
“With the health of players and staff the priority, the League and Fulham will agree a further action plan to control the outbreak to allow the club to resume their season safely. Players and staff will now be retested as part of a revised testing schedule.
"With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the League continues to have confidence in its COVID-19 protocols, fully backed by the government, to enable fixtures to be played as scheduled."
Newcastle’s game against Aston Villa was the first match to be called off at the start of December following an outbreak at the Magpies’ training ground. Manchester City’s game against Everton on Monday was also called off just four hours before kick-off due to an outbreak among the City squad.
The postponements come as the UK battles a surge in coronavirus cases caused in part by a new, more transmissible version of the disease.
That had prompted talk of the Premier League stopping the season for a few weeks to act as a ‘circuit breaker’ and surpress the spread of Covid-19.
However, the Premier League says it has no plans to pause the season, while West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady says such a proposal has never been discussed by clubs.