Doubts over the NRL’s intention to restart the competition in May have been highlighted by Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, who expressed his concern over the risks of returning to action too soon.

Earlier, Brad Hazzard, the New South Wales health minister, said he had not been consulted on the league’s plan to resume play in seven weeks’ time, which was announced on Thursday following meetings of the league’s innovation committee and the ARL Commission.

Channel Nine, the competition’s broadcasting rights co-holder, has also claimed it had been left out of talks over the resumption proposal.

Speaking on Friday, Kelly said he did not believe the NRL should be considered “a law unto themselves” and that the league and its players, like the rest of country, have an important role to play in attempts to control the Covid-19 outbreak.

Kelly also said a return to the field of play on 28 May could be too soon given how rapidly the virus can be spread.

“I don’t think they [the NRL] are a law unto themselves,” Kelly said. “Some of the players and coaches may think so, but they’re part of society and they have a part – as we have all done – to support not only safety for themselves but for all of us.

“We all have a place in this and if we loosen the social distancing measures at the moment it can have an implication down the track.

“What we know about this virus, if we don’t have these social distancing measures, [is that] one person can lead to 400 other cases within a month. We just cannot afford at this stage to be considering that happening.”

Given their age and health, and that games would be played behind closed doors, Kelly said the cohort of players were of less concern than those around them in a more vulnerable age group – a group that includes the likes of coaches Wayne Bennett and Ricky Stuart.

“For them [the players], it may not be a big problem,” he said. “There are other people around the teams – Wayne Bennett is in his 70s, he would be in a vulnerable group; Ricky Stuart with the mighty Raiders, he would potentially be in a vulnerable group – so thinking about the team, not just the players but the support around them, is important.

“They’re making their plans for the road out [of the shutdown] and I encourage them to do so in other sports. But whether May is the time will remain to be seen and definitely they’ll need to get some permission to do that.”

Exact details over the format of the competition if and when it resumes remain unclear, although an exit strategy is likely to involve a NSW hub centred around Sydney.

But Hazzard said on Friday he had not been involved in talks about a restart – nor had he even spoken with league officials since before the suspension of the season after just two rounds.

“The NRL came to see me about a month, or five weeks, ago. There have been no further discussions,” Hazzard said. “The only meeting I’ve had that I can tell you about is around about a month ago, with Todd Greenberg and Peter V’Landys to talk about the issue.

“But that was before they actually made a decision to shut the game down. So I haven’t had any discussions with them at this stage.”

Hazzard said he would, however, be open to talks, although a balance would have to be struck between the benefits of the league returning and the safety implications of that.

“If the NRL want to go ahead, [I’m] happy to have the chat and make sure, with medical advice, as to whether or not it’s appropriate,” Hazzard said.

“Whether it’s the right balance, I’m happy to talk to the NRL, because as health minister, I also know that we need to have a sense of balance about our life, a sense of mental health and I know a lot of people enjoy seeing sport.

“So we can have that conversation with them. I’m not giving any indication one way or the other.”