English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers have stopped players from going shopping over fears of the rapid spread of the mutated strain of the Covid-19 virus in the UK.
A new and more infectious variant of the virus was first detected in the UK in September, and has driven a surge in cases in the country.
In recent weeks the UK has seen infection numbers soar back above 30,000 a day.
Wolves – who are in Tier 3 of England’s coronavirus protection system, which means they are on ‘very high alert’ – are not allowed any fans through the gates of their Molineux home as they prepare to host Tottenham on Sunday night.
They then travel to Manchester United on Tuesday and Brighton on Saturday January 2, as part of the Premier League’s traditionally intense festive fixture list.
As the club bids to keep Covid infections at bay during a congested period, Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed that they have reimposed stringent controls on players and their families.
"We have staff to go shopping and to the supermarkets for them," said Nuno.
"We cannot afford to lose any player, we tell them on a daily basis 'don't relax and try to be more careful'.
"Our kitchen staff puts together a big box of the basic things that we need."
"During the high moment of the pandemic, everybody had it. When the situation improved we said to players 'you are free to go and do your own shopping'.
"But now as the levels are increasing so high, and we have this new mutation that everyone is so worried about, we start putting this together again. It's about protecting ourselves.
"We are privileged as professionals in football, so many people take care of us. It's impossible for [the rest of] society, everybody has to take care of themselves."
Wolves currently stand 11th in the table, two points ahead of Newcastle in 12th and one point off West Ham in 10th.
On Christmas Day, Premier League rivals Manchester City announced that key pair Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus had tested positive for Covid and would likely miss all of their festive fixtures, prompting fans to lament that Jesus contracting the virus at Christmas summed up the way 2020 has panned out.
Also on rt.com 'Sums up 2020': Football fans react as Jesus tests positive for Covid-19 on Christmas Day