Government confirms Leeds United's Premier League season can continue despite national Covid-19 lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown tonight in a televised address, confirming that all schools and colleges will close to most students and move to remote learning, until the middle of next month.

Mr Johnson told everyone in England to stay at home unless food shopping, exercising, obtaining medical help or working, if working from home is not possible.

But while amateur team sports cannot take place under the new restrictions, elite sport including Premier League football can continue.

Leeds' 2019/20 Championship season was suspended for three months during the first lockdown, before a return to action and their eventual promotion to the top flight.

Other Premier League clubs have had games fall victim to positive Covid-19 cases in recent weeks but Leeds' fixtures have all been able to take place as scheduled.

Marcelo Bielsa's Whites sit 12th in the table after 17 games.

The Premier League has reverted to a twice-weekly testing program for players and club staff after recording its highest number of cases in a single round of testing, late last month.

Leeds travel to League Two Crawley Town this weekend in the FA Cup. The EFL outfit's players and staff will also undergo testing before the fixture, funded by the FA.