Business not responsible for COVID-19 infection rise: German minister

FILE PHOTO: A banner reading "Please keep distance Pay contactless" is pictured in front of a shop during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in downtown Wildeshausen, Germany June 24, 2020. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the government will do everything it can to prevent renewed closures of shops, businesses and factories amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Rising infection numbers in many cases can be traced back not to shops and factories but to private activities like parties, Altmaier told the German parliament on Thursday.

"You have our guarantee that we will do everything we can to ensure that the (economic) upswing continues in the months to come," Altmaier added.

FILE PHOTO: Executive Vice President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager addresses the media during a joint statement with German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (not pictured) prior to the "European Competition Day" at the German Economy Ministry in Berlin, Germany September 7, 2020. Michael Sohn/Pool via REUTERS

(Reporting by Thomas Seythal and Thomas Escritt; Editing by Michael Nienaber)