LONDON • The English Premier League revealed on Monday that just 16 players and staff had tested positive for the coronavirus in the latest round of testing, which is a significant drop from recent weeks.

Britain is under its third national lockdown as authorities battle a highly infectious strain of the Covid-19 disease but fears of another shutdown for the English top flight have eased.

Aston Villa's clash with Everton was the only postponed fixture over the weekend due to an outbreak that closed their training ground, but the Villans are due to return to action today, away to Manchester City.

"The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday Jan 11 and Sunday Jan 17, across two rounds of testing, 3,115 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, there were 16 new positive tests," the league said in a statement.

A record 40 positive cases were reported two weeks ago, a figure that dropped slightly to 36 last week.

Pressure has been applied to Premier League stars to rein in exuberant goal celebrations.

Leicester's James Maddison showed the restraint bosses asked for as he mimicked handshakes and high-fives from a distance after smashing the Foxes into the lead against Southampton on Saturday.

"If little things like that are what's required to keep football going, that's what we all want," the midfielder said.

"Footballers get a lot of stick and it's nice to try to turn a serious message into a lighter note because I think the whole country wants football to continue."

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers revealed he had asked his players to "get creative" and invent new ways to celebrate without congregating.

However, some others failed to follow the warnings.

Manchester City's players gathered together after their goals against Crystal Palace, while Brighton's win at Leeds was met with wild celebrations from Graham Potter's men.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE