German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country's 16 state governors have indicated that the nation could remain in lockdown till March 14. Though the overall number of cases is on the decline, there is concern over cases of new variants of the virus.
Germany has been in a state of lockdown since November. The lockdown was extended till February 14 as numbers increased around Christmas and an increase in the number of patients threatened to overwhelm hospitals. Under the lockdown, bars, restaurants and most stores, except for those selling essentials had been kept closed.
"Considering the virus mutations, the steps to lift the restrictions must come carefully and gradually to avoid risking the successful curbing of infections," a draft statement read, reported the DW.
The draft also states that individual states can decide whether or not to reopen schools. The weekly number of new infections has dropped to 68 per 100,000 inhabitants. The government aims to push the number below 50 to enable reliable contact-tracing, AP reports.
On Wednesday, Germany reported 8,072 cases of the coronavirus. Top officials are expected to roll-out self-testing kits to be another tool against the pandemic. As of now, federal regulators are testing the kits for efficiency.