PARIS (REUTERS, AFP) - This week's Champions League soccer clash between Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund will take place behind closed doors due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, said the Paris police authority on Monday (March 9).

The game at Paris' Parc des Princes stadium this Wednesday will see PSG go into the second-leg having lost the first tie in Dortmund 2-1.

France, with more than 1,100 cases and 19 deaths, has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people to try and slow the spread of Covid-19 on Sunday.

PSG, who would have expected a full house of more than 45,000 fans at the Parc des Princes for the game, issued a statement of their own, saying: "In this context, the club remains fully mobilised to organise the match in the best possible conditions."

The announcement was closely followed by the postponement of the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland scheduled for Saturday in Paris, the most high profile sporting events in France to be hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

PSG's Ligue 1 match at Strasbourg on Saturday had already been postponed due to the extent of the outbreak in the Alsace region of eastern France.

The region of North Rhine Westphalia, where Dortmund is situated, has been the worst hit region in Germany, with close to 500 confirmed infections, according to official data.

Tuesday's Champions League clash between Valencia and Italian side Atalanta in Spain will also be played behind closed doors, with the visitors travelling from Bergamo in the Lombardy region which is amongst the worst hit parts of Italy by the virus. No journalists will be allowed to attend that game either.