Bayern Munich: BIG blow for German giants as these TWO players test COVID-19 positive

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich and striker Choupo-Mouting have been tested positive for COVID-19, the club says both are recovering well till now.

A month after Joshua Kimmich became the face of Germany's debate over vaccine hesitancy, the Bayern Munich midfielder has tested positive for the coronavirus along with teammate Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, the club said. Both players were already in isolation over close contact with people suspected of having the virus. Bayern said both were "doing well."

Kimmich said last month in a TV interview that he had not yet made a decision about whether to be vaccinated and voiced reservations about vaccines. The midfielder's comments caused concern among public health experts at a time when vaccine take-up in Germany had slowed. He was praised as a "role mode" by Alice Weidel, a leading figure in the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has opposed many measures against the coronavirus.

Kimmich co-founded a fundraising campaign last year with teammate Leon Goretzka which donated money to social and charitable organizations to continue working during the pandemic and which also sent some money to UNICEF to help make vaccines more easily available in poorer nations.