Premier League clubs have agreed to continue with their Christmas schedule despite several recent fixtures being postponed due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Ten Premier League games have been postponed this month due to outbreaks among players and staff amid a busy schedule, which also includes other European competitions.
Teams are set to play three times between Boxing Day and January 3.
Despite calls from some players and coaches to suspend the league temporarily, the league confirmed that it will plough through its festive schedule while implementing improved testing regimes for all participating clubs.
"The safety of everybody is a priority and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country," the league said in a statement.
"The league has reverted to its emergency measures and has increased testing of players and club staff to daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests, having previously carried out lateral flow testing twice a week.
"The Premier League's COVID-19 emergency measures include protocols such as wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing, limiting treatment time, as well as the increased testing.
"The league is continuing to work with clubs to keep people safe by helping mitigate the risks of COVID-19 within their squads."
The league also confirmed that 90 new positive cases were detected in the week leading up to December 19, after a record 12,345 tests across the playing and staff cohort.
The 90 positive cases are almost double the amount recorded in the previous week. Around 92 per cent of players and staff have received at least one vaccination dose, including 84 per cent of players.
Only four of the past weekend's 10 fixtures were played after a number of teams reported players unavailable due to positive tests. The league only grants postponements if a club has fewer than 14 players available, with the board considering requests on a case-by-case basis.
The spread of the Omicron variant throughout Premier League teams could also affect other European competitions such as the Europa League and Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur was the first English team to forfeit a European match due to player unavailability, with its match against Rennes called off.
Spurs were subsequently handed an automatic 3-0 loss, which saw them dumped out of the competition altogether.
England's Football Association (FA) has also scrapped replays in rounds three and four of the FA Cup to help clear the fixture backlog after several postponements.
"Ties in the third and fourth rounds of this season's competition will be played to a finish on the day, with extra-time and penalties if required," the FA said.
However, the English Football League (EFL), which also organises the League Cup, said its own fixtures will be played as scheduled.
League Cup semi-finals will be played over two legs in January, with the competition's quarter-finals — which includes seven Premier League teams — set to be played this week.
"We will continue to work with clubs, authorities and other agencies to monitor the COVID-19 case rate and be prepared to respond accordingly," EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said.
"For now, the view remains that we can continue to deliver games safely where clubs have sufficient healthy personnel in place, on and off the pitch."
