Paderborn's Luca Kilian, 20, was the first case of COVID-19 in the German top-flight which has been postponed until at least April 2 due to the pandemic.

The Germany Under-21 international had missed seven matches since suffering a muscle injury in late-January but his club's last match was the March 6 loss to Cologne.

"It started on March 10 with a little bit of irritation in the throat. The day after I had a headache but I kept training" he told newspaper Westfalen-Blatt.

"On March 12 I had the first of my hot flushes and a day later they were really strong. Fever and strong shivers. It was then I started being really scared for the first time.

"It took four days for the fever to drop, and after that I felt better every day," he added.

Defender Kilian, who joined the league's bottom club from home town side Borussia Dortmund at the start of the season, was able to return home to his family to be taken care of by his mother, a nurse.

"If I had stayed alone in Paderborn I would have gone to hospital,"

"I can now talk from experience. I'm a sportsman and in form, but I had to fight a lot against the virus. For the people who already have health issues, it could put their life in danger."

As of late Sunday, 55 people in Germany have died of the disease with 18,610 recorded cases and Chancellor Angela Merkel was in quarantine after meeting a doctor who tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Earlier in the day Merkel announced a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and further infection control measures.