A total of 5,524 players and club staff from all 72 EFL clubs were tested between March 15-21; EFL chief executive Trevor Birch: "Our focus must be on maintaining this low transmission rate and then ensure supporters can return in full as quickly as is safe to do so"
Wednesday 24 March 2021 11:42, UK
All 72 EFL clubs have recorded zero positive Covid-19 test results for the first time - a year on from the first lockdown.
A total of 5,524 players and club staff from all 72 clubs were tested from March 15-21, with the EFL having introduced twice-weekly testing in early January.
It represents a stark turnaround after there were calls for a mid-season "circuit-breaker" last December to tackle a worrying rise in infections.
"Today's results are a testament to the hard work and efforts of all EFL clubs during what has been a particularly challenging period," said EFL chief executive Trevor Birch.
"For 12 months we, like the rest of the society, have been dictated to by this virus. However, the stringent protocols implemented across the board have ensured that we are now able to turn our attention to returning to a certain level of normality.
"Our focus must be on maintaining this low transmission rate and then ensure supporters can return in full as quickly as is safe to do so. Football remains one of the most heavily regulated areas of crowd management, with EFL clubs already demonstrating they can stage matches safely during a successful pilot programme earlier in the season."
There were 25 positive cases recorded in the previous week's testing, following a Covid outbreak at Rotherham.
