Germany’s Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has said he does not expect lockdown restrictions to ease before the end of May.
His comments come as the country’s coronavirus infection rate rose over the weekend despite stricter restrictions.
“We need a timetable [on] how to get back to normal life, but it must be a plan that won’t have to be revoked after just a few days,” Mr Scholz told Bild am Sonntag.
The federal government should be able to outline “clear and courageous opening steps” for the summer by the end of May, allowing restaurants to adjust reopening plans and citizens to plan holidays, he said.
Mr Scholz said the steps would also clarify when visits to concerts, theatres and soccer stadiums would be possible.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged Germans to stick to tougher rules imposed in areas with high infection rates, saying the measures were needed to break a third wave of infections.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 18,773 to 3,287,418, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.
The reported death toll rose by 120 to 81,564, the tally showed
