Economy minister of Germany Peter Altmaier on Sunday said that Germany may witness four to five more months of coronavirus curbs leaving no hopes of a sooner end to a partial lockdown which was announced two weeks ago, reported AFP.

As the government meeting approaches on Monday to review the situation of restrictions in place, Altmaier told the Bild an Sonntag newspaper, “The infection numbers are still far too high — much higher even than a fortnight ago.”

In early November, Germany went into partial lockdown closing bars, gyms, restaurants, and other recreational facilities. However, keeping schools and shops open.

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The number of new infections per day has since declined but remains high, with a record of over 23,000 reported cases of coronavirus on Friday.

“We will have to live with considerable precautions and restrictions for at least the next four to five months,” Altmaier said.

“Many people are now understandably hoping for a loosening (of restrictions), that restaurants or cinemas will reopen. But in view of the still far too high infection rates, we have little room for manoeuvre,” he added.

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The restrictions decided by Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states are provisionally in place until the end of November.

The leaders will meet again on Monday to decide whether to extend them or to promulgate tightened restrictions.

With more than 300,000 school children in quarantine, there have been growing requests for schools to shut or at least move more of their lessons online.

“We are entering a situation where school operation is becoming a high risk for children, teachers, parents and grandparents,” said MP and epidemiologist Karl Lauterbach in an interview with the Funke media group.

On Saturday, numerous demonstrations against the restrictions were held across Germany, comprising one in Frankfurt where water cannons were used against counter-demonstrators.

The coronavirus tally of Germany has reached a total of 790,503 coronavirus cases and 12,485 deaths, according to the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre.

The number of patients diagnosed with novel coronavirus in intensive care has surged from just over 360 in early October to over 3,300 as of today,

Neighbouring Austria, which also imposed a partial lockdown two weeks ago, declared on Saturday that schools and non-essential shops will close from Tuesday.