BERLIN (BLOOMBERG) - Germany saw its new coronavirus cases drop for the fifth consecutive day as the country considers whether to extend a nationwide lockdown beyond this week.

The daily increase in infections of 2,218 was the lowest this month and brought the total to 130,072, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Fatalities rose by 172 to 3,194, the biggest increase since April 10. Germany has the fourth-highest number of cases in Europe, though its death rate is relatively low at about 2.5 per cent.

The country might soon decide to lift some of the restrictions designed to stem the virus's spread, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday (April 14) in an interview on ARD television. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's 16 state leaders are due to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

"We have seen some successes in the past few days," Altmaier said in the interview. Schools and small shops could be reopened "step by step" without endangering public health, he added.

The National Academy of Sciences on Monday recommended that primary schools and lower secondary education should be gradually reopened as soon as possible. In a 19-page report that Merkel wants to use as a basis for her government's decision-making, it also suggested that shops and restaurants could be opened as long as social distancing measures are rigorously adhered to.

These deliberations come as European governments revisit strict social-distancing rules introduced to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Italy last week extended nationwide restrictions until May 3 with only slight concessions to businesses demanding a restart of the economy, while French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday prolonged his country's lockdown to May 11, following the first increase in the daily death toll in four days.

British ministers will also decide in the next three days on extending the country's lockdown, with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab telling reporters it was likely to carry on.

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