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After a brief respite in which a limited number of fans could attend games at the Westfalenstadion and other arenas across Germany, it looks like the Yellow Wall will go empty once again. According to a press release from the German Federal Government, large gatherings of people, including sporting events, will be banned during the month of November as Germany deals with rising cases of COVID-19. While the Bundesliga will still be able to play matches behind closed doors, no fans will be allowed into the stands.
Germany's federal government and 16 state governments agreed on various restrictive measures in attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. That said, they decided to allow professional sporting events without spectators during the next month. #Bundesliga https://t.co/mUG2O8ABmL pic.twitter.com/MHO9fC3Xxh
— Constantin Eckner (@cc_eckner) October 28, 2020
While this is clearly disappointing, as the fans are part of what make the Bundesliga so great, it’s almost certainly for the best. Germany is suffering some of its highest single-day case totals of the pandemic right now, as are other European countries like France and the Czech Republic. It’s simply too unsafe for fans to enter the stands, and as the weather cools the virus will only become more contagious. At this point, all we can hope for is that the people of Germany stay safe and responsible so that cases go back down, and they can get back to enjoying matches as soon as possible.