BERLIN (AP) - Bundesliga games will likely remain without fans until next year after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that a ban on large events will be extended to Dec. 31.
Merkel met with her 16 state governors on Thursday to discuss how to proceed as coronavirus infections rise again in Germany.
Sport was not the main focus of the talks, but it is covered by the decision to extend the ban on events where hygiene and tracing can’t be ensured. That ban was initially set to run until Oct. 31 but was extended for another two months.
The state governors’ chiefs of staff will form a working group to consider the possibility of spectators at events and report their findings by the end of October.
Bavarian governor Markus Söder agreed with health minister Jens Spahn’s assertion that it would send the “wrong signal” to allow fans go to games.
Germany has reported 240,420 cases of the coronavirus, with 9,290 deaths attributed to COVID-19. But concern is growing as the number of daily new infections is rising.
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