Chelsea player tests positive for coronavirus just hours after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was diagnosed – throwing football season into CHAOS following Premier League decision to go ahead with all fixtures and PM’s refusal to ban mass gatherings
Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi also tested positive for coronavirus just hours after the Premier League announced this weekend’s fixtures will still go ahead.
Arteta, 37, became the first confirmed member of staff of a Premier League team to contract the disease, which was officially labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday.
News of Arteta’s diagnosis came less than an hour after the Premier League announced that this weekend’s fixtures would still be played as planned.
He, and the entire first-team squad and coaching staff, will now be self-isolating in accordance with the most recent government guidelines.
Chelsea announced Hudson-Odoi, 19, had tested positive with COVID-19 at around midnight and said the training facility in Cobham, Surrey, will be partially closed.
Chelsea staff who had recent close contact with the winger will also self-isolate, the club said in a statement. The player posted a video on Twitter this morning (Friday), thanking fans for their good wishes and confirming he will be self isolating.
He said: “As you may be aware I had the virus for the last couple of days which I have recovered from. I’m following the health guidelines and self-isolating myself from everybody for the week. Hope to see everybody soon and hopefully be back on the pitch very soon.”
The Premier League will hold an emergency meeting via conference call at 10.30am on Friday to decide if and how to proceed with the remaining fixtures of the season.
Earlier today Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of Cobra emergency committee in which he refused to ban mass gatherings or shut schools despite saying ‘many loved ones’ will die during the escalating crisis.
Arsenal were due to play Brighton on Saturday, but the South Coast club announced this evening that the match is postponed. (Mail)