[9] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, on 8 March 2020 the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn recommended cancelling events with more than 1,000 people.
[14] The DFL General Assembly, at their meeting on 31 March, chose to extend the suspension until at least 30 April per the recommendation of the Executive Committee.
[15][16] At the meeting, the DFL established a sports medicine and special match operations task force responsible for examining a safe method to resume league play.
[18] By 21 March 2020, several clubs, including Eintracht Frankfurt and Hertha BSC, were under quarantine after multiple players and staff had tested positive, and training was made impossible for most others by curfews or the closure of facilities.
[19] However, several virologists raised doubts, stating that any professional football matches in Germany, including those behind closed doors, were unrealistic for at least the next 12 months.
[20][21] In his report for the 31 March DFL meeting, virologist Alexander Kekulé recommended to write off the current season.
Twelve of those clubs had already used the outstanding license fees (which are dependent on the season to be continued) to pay their March debts to creditors.
[29] After consultation with the German government, chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of the states of Germany approved the resumption of the leagues for the second half of May, with matches behind closed doors.
[33] On 14 May, after a meeting of all clubs, five substitutions were permitted, which has been temporarily allowed by IFAB following a proposal by FIFA to lessen the impact of fixture congestion.
Bundesliga simulcast ("conference") would be shown on free-to-air television in Germany, in order to prevent gatherings of people without pay TV subscriptions.