FC Koln squad tests negative for COVID-19 following 3 positive cases

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Hopes of a potential Bundesliga return were given a boost Monday when FC Koln confirmed that COVID-19 tests for the first-team staff reported no further positive results.

"On Sunday, FC Koln had the entire team, as well as the coaching and backroom staff, tested for COVID-19. All tests from the independent laboratory were negative," the club's statement read.

The midtable side announced Friday that three members of the first-team staff - who were later confirmed to be midfielder Niklas Hauptmann, defender Ismail Jakobs, and a club physio - had tested positive.

The trio of positive test results initially cast doubt over the Bundesliga's possible return to action in May.

Angela Merkel's government is set to decide the fate of the 2019-20 campaign on Wednesday as the German Football League (DFL) plans to restart behind closed doors from May 16 onward.

Germany's minister for sport and the interior, Horst Seehofer, said Sunday that he backs the resumption of play despite the positive tests at Koln.

Teams in the German top flight returned to limited training in April and have begun receiving tests every few days. The DFL's protocol requires players to return negative tests twice in succession before they are permitted to train or play.

"On Monday morning, Markus Gisdol's team will continue to train in groups. Training is not open to the public," Koln's statement added.

The DFL announced Monday that the first round of 1,724 samples taken last week across the top two tiers of German football returned 10 positive tests.

Germany confirmed 163,175 cases of the coronavirus as of Monday, though the death toll of 6,692 is significantly lower than in the U.K., Spain, Italy, and France as the country carefully considers easing lockdown stipulations.