KASSEL (Germany): Sports in Germany are facing a new wave of disruption caused by the coronavirus as the infection rate rises, with soccer games and the national boxing championships facing postponement.
The German Boxing Association said Monday it was moving next month's national amateurs to April because local regulations would mean the event could be open only to people who have been vaccinated or are certified as having recently recovered from an infection.
The association said it was postponing the championships so that any boxers who aren't vaccinated would have enough time to get both doses of a vaccine before competing.
Vaccine or recovery will still be required for the new dates.
The announcement came on the same day that the national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said Germany hit a new record high infection rate of 201.
1 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days.
Also on Monday, a third-division men's soccer game between Würzburg and Eintracht Braunschweig was postponed because of an outbreak at Würzburg, which said five players tested positive for the coronavirus.
A second-division game was postponed last week over 18 cases among players and staff at Sandhausen.
No fixtures in the Bundesliga have been postponed yet, unlike last season.
Outbreaks among top clubs have generally been small, though Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann and Wolfsburg forward Wout Weghorst each missed Champions League games last month following positive tests.