Frank Lampard admits he is concerned about football in England continuing while the COVID-19 crisis escalates.
On Friday, London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, declared a "major incident" in the capital as hospitals face rising numbers of patients.
The English football authorities are carrying out regular tests on players and club staff, and the number of positive cases is rising, with 40 declared in the Premier League for last week.
Lampard said none of those were Chelsea players but confirmed "a small number of staff" with the London club had tested positive recently.
Sunday will see Chelsea welcome fourth-tier outfit Morecambe to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup third round, with the visitors having recently had to postpone two games because of coronavirus cases in their ranks.
Chelsea head coach Lampard was asked about possible worries, and said: "Not just about playing Morecambe, but I do have concerns because of the current climate.
"We haven't had any players positive in the last couple of rounds – we have had a small number of staff.
"Of course, whilst the country is in lockdown for a reason, while football carries on for a reason, it means there's lots of mixing going on.
"We have to be ultra-careful. I'm not completely comfortable but we have to toe the line, we have to keep playing.
"The safety must come first. There are lots of moving parts and things are changing day by day, week by week."
Burnley boss Sean Dyche this week floated the idea that if footballers were vaccinated, it would lead to savings on testing and such money could be ploughed into the National Health Service.
Lampard said, as Dyche did, that footballers should not be seen to be jumping the queue ahead of those in most need.
He said: "Maybe there's a time down the line when we look at sports but I don't think it's that time right now."
Chelsea will be without the injured Reece James, Andreas Christensen and N'Golo Kante for the Morecambe game, and Lampard is considering giving a first-team chance to a number of academy players.
Lampard's team have lost 3-1 to both Arsenal and Manchester City, either side of a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, in a Premier League slump over the past fortnight.
Previous defeats in mid-December to Everton and Wolves have also played a part in them falling away from being challengers near the top of the table to sitting in ninth place.
They face a fourth-tier side who have won six of their previous seven games, yet this is Morecambe's fourth appearance in the third round of the cup, and they have lost each of their previous games at this stage without scoring.
Chelsea's last third-round defeat in the competition came in 1997-98, when they lost to Manchester United.
Lampard said the challenge of returning his team to peak form "makes my job more exciting".
He accepts "confidence has been hit" and said: "The players need a lift. That's my job, the staff's job, and their job. I don't know any way out of a lack of confidence but to sprint yourself out of it and fight yourself out of it, because those are the rules of football."
He was reminded about Chelsea being stunned 4-2 by Bradford City in the fourth round in January 2015 and said: "Underdogs will turn up, try to win and make things difficult for you.
"Considering our current form, we have to be even more on guard and worry about ourselves, and get ourselves playing well, because if we play well and do our job right, we'll win the game I believe."
Coventry City 2-3 Hull City: Tigers win five-goal thriller to keep play-off hopes alive
Hull City kept their hopes of gatecrashing the Championship play-offs alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry City on Wednesday.
Noah Ohio scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as Hull moved within three points of sixth-placed Norwich City with two games to play.
Coventry, meanwhile, saw their own hopes of returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive play-off final all but ended, as they sit six points further back with three matches remaining.
Three days on from their remarkable comeback against Manchester United, the Sky Blues twice fought back to level things at Coventry Building Society Arena. Jaden Philogene's shot squirmed under goalkeeper Bradley Collins to put Hull ahead 31 minutes in, but Kasey Palmer levelled within five minutes with a stunning free-kick.
Hull went back ahead in controversial circumstances on the stroke of half-time, Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho converting from the penalty spot despite replays showing Joel Latibeaudiere's foul on Liam Delap took place outside the area.
Mark Robins' men again dragged themselves back into the game as Bobby Thomas headed Jay Dasilva's cross in just before the hour mark, but it was Liam Rosenior's visitors who found a winner.
Thomas went from hero to villain as his poor back pass sold Collins short, and Ohio got a toe to the ball to score the winner, keeping Hull's hopes of Premier League football intact.
Van Dijk: Liverpool have 'no chance' in title race after derby defeat
Virgil van Dijk conceded Liverpool might be out of the Premier League title race after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half to give the Toffees their first win over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010.
Liverpool struggled to find a way through the Toffees' defence despite dominating for long periods, and the Reds' captain says they will not outlast Arsenal and Manchester City without major improvements.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "If we play like today, then we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.
"We have to just focus on the next game and that will be a tough one anyway, so we will see.
"We're very disappointed, in so many ways. I think everyone has to look at their own performances. Did they really give everything, and do they really want to win the league?
"We're still fighting and there are still games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the referee a chance to give free-kicks like he did many times, then you have no chance to win the title."
Howe: Newcastle performance in Palace defeat 'way off' Spurs win
Eddie Howe admitted Newcastle United's performance in the 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Wednesday was "way off" the one that saw them thump Tottenham in their previous game.
Howe's men hammered Spurs 4-0 in their last match, but they never got close to matching the attacking verve from that outing and a Jean-Philippe Mateta double condemned the Magpies to defeat at Selhurst Park.
Newcastle didn't even manage a shot on target until the 87th minute, accumulating just 0.42 xG (expected goals) as the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon struggled to make an impact.
Only against Manchester City in August (one) have Newcastle recorded fewer shots on target in a Premier League game this season than their two against Palace, and Howe was critical of his team's display in the loss, one that all but ends their hopes of finishing in the top four.
"[It is a] bad day for us," Howe told Newcastle's club media.
"I thought we were disappointing today, especially in the first 60 minutes. We were way off our levels against Tottenham and our best levels.
"I thought technically we didn't deliver a good performance, and out of possession I don't think it was a particularly good performance either."
Newcastle were unlocked twice for Mateta to score by a Palace side who themselves only generated 0.88 xG.
Howe was left frustrated by the manner in which his side conceded, adding: "I think we'll be disappointed with our performance technically today, and that's probably epitomised by the two goals where we're disappointed with how we've given them the ball in those situations and then how we defended.
"I think the goals sum up aspects of our performance where there was some good, lots of moments that could have led to opportunities, but we were slow to shoot around the box," he said.
The defeat, combined with Manchester United's 4-2 win over Sheffield United, means Newcastle drop to seventh, while eighth-placed West Ham are two points behind with a game in hand.
Newcastle have now lost eight of their last 11 Premier League away games, while they have lost on four occasions in London in the league this term, only doing so more times in a Premier League season in 2000-01 and 2005-06 (both five).
It's been a disappointing season for Howe and his side, especially compared to the heroics of last term when Newcastle finished in the top four, and the Magpies boss knows there's work to be done to get back to those levels.
"It's a day that we have to take our punishment, deal with it, and then try and improve," Howe continued. "It's frustrating because we know we're capable of much better."
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