All 72 clubs in the English Football League, including Lincoln City, Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United, will be tested twice a week for COVID-19.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) will fully fund the testing when it begins from Monday, January 11.
It comes as a re-introduction to a full league testing programme in order to be more vigilant against rising coronavirus cases.
All 72 clubs from the Championship, League One and League Two took part in mandatory testing on the week of January 4, and it has been decided that more regular testing will continue.
The EFL announced that additional testing may help identify cases quicker, as well as assisting the isolation of asymptomatic individuals.
Lincoln City were recently hit with a COVID-19 outbreak when their manager Michael Appleton and goalkeeping coach Steve Croudson had to self-isolate after testing positive for the virus on New Year’s Day.
The Imps’ First Team Manager Michael Appleton. | Photo: Lincoln City Football Club
Trevor Birch, chief executive of the EFL, said the decision was made with the health and wellbeing of players and staff in mind.
He said: “We have repeatedly maintained that adhering to the stringent protocols implemented during the re-start last summer.
“With the new strain of the virus taking hold across parts of the country, it is now clear from our discussions with our medical advisors and public health officials that additional testing, operated in conjunction with strict protocols, may prove beneficial in the immediate short-term.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the PFA for their support in helping us to finalise a position on testing across all three divisions on a twice-weekly basis.”
The testing will only be used by EFL clubs, meaning Premier League and non-league sides are not involved in this particular programme.
Due to new national lockdown restrictions, only elite sport is allowed to continue, meaning clubs in tiers 3-7 of the non-league football pyramid cannot play matches.
Of all the Lincolnshire football clubs, only Lincoln City, Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United, Boston United and Gainsborough Trinity can carry on playing games.
The likes of Pinchbeck United, Spalding United, Grantham Town and Sleaford Town have had to pause their seasons until further notice.
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The 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman arrested in the murder probe of an 11-year-old boy in Lincoln have both been released on police bail, without any charges.
The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and the woman on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident at a house on Geneva Street on St Giles in Lincoln.
Police were called to the house at 10pm on Friday night, January 22.
The 11-year-old boy was found unwell at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
At the time Lincolnshire Police said the death was unexplained and it was treated as murder.
The man and the woman arrested at the weekend were released on police bail on Monday evening.
Lincolnshire Police said in a statement on Monday night:
“Once again, we’d like to remind people that this is an active investigation and that an 11-year-old boy has sadly lost his life.
“Speculative comments are not only deeply upsetting to those involved but can potentially undermine our investigation.
“If you have any information that can help, call 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 472 of January 22.”
Ten people from Boston have been given fines for breaching COVID-19 regulations by driving dangerously in supermarket car parks.
Officers were called after three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen, as well as on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.
All three incidents took place and were reported to police between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday, January 24, though it is unsure if they were connected at all.
When officers arrived, the drivers were seen doing donut manoeuvres and racing in the snow.
A total of 10 people were given £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines, but this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days, due to all being first time offenders.
As well as the COVID-19 fines, two of the vehicles were also seized as a result of being uninsured, with drivers reported.
A traffic offence report was also submitted after one driver was seen to be driving not just dangerously but out of control.
Inspector Fran Harrod of Lincolnshire Police said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention.
“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas.
“While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.”
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