Bundesliga clubs have already started testing their players and staff for coronavirus as their plans to restart their season on May 16 ramp up.

It was announced on Thursday that the German top flight will now not resume until at least May 16 after the date on a decision was pushed back until next Wednesday.

There had been hopes that the German leagues would be given approval to play again as early as May 9 this week as the country continues its battle against the coronavirus crisis.

One of the key pillars of the German authorities plan to get football back up and running is regular and continuous testing of all of those involved in match-day operations.

Testing players in the top two leagues began on Thursday, with more to follow on Friday, before clubs begin their training sessions and plans are to continue testing every two to five days in a bid to reduce the risk of infection.

According to BILD, clubs have been assigned laboratories for their tests to be checked. Some will use laboratories in Bremen and Geesthacht while others will use a laboratory in Cologne.

Perennial champions Bayern Munich are among those to start testi

ng on Friday, along with Borussia Dortmund and and RB Leipzig. Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen have already completed one batch of tests.

Clubs had returned to training weeks ago, working as individuals, with hopes that the season would begin again on Saturday next week.

Those hopes were dashed on Thursday after talks were delayed amid suggestions there will be a tightening of lockdown restrictions in Germany after coronavirus cases spiked in the country.

There is now a belief that Chancellor Angela Merkel will have to make the rules harsher again after initially allowing shops, schools and churches to open again.

Germany’s virus reproduction rate – which shows how many people on average are effected by coronavirus – had shot up to 1.0, the ‘dividing line between growth and decline’.

Germany’s strict procedures during the pandemic have seen them handle the disease better than most countries, but Merkel said hospitals would be overwhelmed if the rate rises any further, meaning a second lockdown would be ‘unavoidable’.