Germany to ease Covid restrictions next week

Flower shops, book stores, garden centres, tattoo and nail parlours as well as massage salons will be allowed to reopen on March 8, according to the draft plan.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to address lockdown and easing options with the 16 state government heads, with coronavirus cases in Europe’s most populous country and largest economy up to more than 2.4m.

Germany will start easing some Covid restrictions from next week, according to draft plans to be discussed by leaders of the country's national and state governments, amid mounting public frustration over lockdowns and pressure to revive the economy.

The easing will be tentative given that — while months of lockdowns have pushed down infection and death rates — new daily cases have begun creeping up again in recent days as more contagious variants of the virus spread in Germany while the country’s rollout of vaccines has been sluggish.