EPL to relax COVID-19 rules once vaccine rate reaches 85%

The Premier League in England will relax coronavirus restrictions imposed on clubs when the number of players with double vaccination reaches 85 per cent.

The governing body of the English Premier League (EPL) had confirmed last week that 68 per cent of players were fully vaccinated.

It had also said 81 per cent had received at least one jab.

Club doctors were informed of the league’s intentions at a meeting on Oct. 21, but future guidelines will depend on a possible increase of coronavirus cases over the winter period.

Uptake of the vaccine among professional footballers has been debated at length, with several England internationals opting not to discuss their status earlier this month.

The latest figures released by the league are that 19 per cent of players have yet to receive their first jab.

They confirm that the sport now has a similar uptake to the 18 to 39-year-old average across the UK.

Four new positive coronavirus cases were recorded from last week’s Premier League testing programme and six positives were recorded in the previous week’s results.

Clubs have had stringent COVID-related rules imposed at their training grounds and stadiums over the past 18 months to allow football to continue during the pandemic.