Saxony's government plans on Monday to exclude spectators from all professional sporting events through Dec. 12 in a bid to reduce infection rates across the state.

It means the Ski Jumping World Cup in Klingenthal Dec. 9-12 will take place without spectators, while soccer teams Leipzig, which plays in the Bundesliga, and second division Dynamo Dresden and Erzgebirge Aue will have to play their home games in empty stadiums.

Leipzig hosts Bayer Leverkusen on Nov. 28, Manchester City on Dec. 7 and Borussia Mönchengladbach on Dec. 11.

Germany's disease control agency said Saturday that Saxony's 7-day rate of infections per 100,000 people is at 793.7, far above the national rate of 362.2.

Leipzig criticized the local government on Saturday, saying it does not understand how it "allowed this situation to come about in the first place. The highest infection rate of all federal states, combined with the lowest vaccination rate, is proof that politicians in Saxony have not yet managed to implement sound concepts to effectively control the pandemic.'' Leipzig's handball team is also affected by the new lockdown measures.