BERLIN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Wednesday generally extending the country's nationwide social distance restrictions which have been in force for weeks, until at least May 3.
This was agreed by German federal and state governments after consultations on Wednesday. The current restriction measures, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people, a social distance of minimum 1.5 meters and the closure of non-essential businesses, are scheduled to be valid until Sunday.
To support tracking infection contacts, the use of digital "contact tracing" is centrally important, said Merkel. she also suggested wearing non-medical everyday masks where the minimum distance cannot be guaranteed such as on public transport.
Schools in Germany is scheduled to gradually open on May 4, starting first with graduating classes, according to the statement of the German government.
Shops with a sales area of up to 800 square meters are allowed to open from Monday under certain conditions regarding hygiene, access and queue control, the statement added.
Germany had achieved a "fragile intermediate success," Merkel said. However, she added that everyone must understand they will have to live with the virus until a vaccine is available.
Germany has reported 3,254 deaths from COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, an increase of 285 from the previous day, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention. A total of 127,584 infection cases have been recorded, an increase of 2,486 over the past 24 hours, statistics showed. Enditem
