Hearts restart Covid 19 testing using £500,000 grant from Scottish Government
All Championship and Premiership clubs must be testing weekly to continue playing after all other Scottish leagues were suspended until at least February 1.
Hearts and the other nine Championship sides received a £500,000 government grant to help them through the pandemic. It will help cover the cost of testing, which would reach around £50,000 to £60,000 if done weekly through to the end of the season.
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Hide AdHearts tested all players and staff last week following positive Covid tests for winger Josh Ginnelly and defender Michael Smith. They are now planning to resume regular weekly tests in line with Scottish Football Association requirements.
The Edinburgh club are due to travel to Alloa on league business this Saturday. “We should have testers here within the next 24 hours. Results usually have to be in two days before a game,” manager Robbie Neilson told the Evening News.
“We wanted the testing to happen after the teams in the Championship got their £500,000 payment. We were keen for part of that to be used for testing to make sure the season gets completed and fixtures can be fulfilled.”
The SFA decided to stop the Scottish Cup and all leagues below the Championship due to rapidly rising Covid numbers. Neilson admitted he was concerned that the Championship may be halted.
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Hide Ad“That's always the worry. Thankfully it's the Premiership and Championship continuing and, to be fair, the clubs should have the funds.
“We all got a significant sum of money and you are probably talking about ten per cent of that to test from now until the end of the season.
“Clubs should be able to cover that with the grant. If teams are saying they can't afford it, then it needs looked at.”
The next round of the Scottish Cup remains on hold for now. “We need to wait and see when that gets played. Potentially, it could be the start of February. We've had a wee period with no games and now we have quite a busy period coming up,” added Neilson.