Germany will not ease measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic before April 20, according to Helge Braun, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet chief.

“We’re not talking about any relief before April 20,”, said Helge Braun. However, before April 20, it will be clear what restrictions can be lifted from that date.

Germany closed schools, shops, restaurants, playgrounds and sports facilities in mid-March. Many companies have stopped production to help slow the spread of the virus.

According to Helge Braun, the population in the country complies with the rules. “I’m convinced we will see success in a few days”, said he.

According to the German Institute for Infectious Diseases Robert Koch, there are 58,247 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country. The deaths from the virus were 455 people with more than 80 reported only yesterday.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked the Germans for complying with the rules. “When I see today that almost everyone has changed their behavior, how the vast majority of you are really avoiding unnecessary contact, just because there may be a risk of infection, then I just want to say, thank you, thank you from the heart!”, said the Chancellor in her weekly podcast.

Angela Merkel adds that it’s unclear how long the difficult times will last. Currently, the number of newly infected people in the country is doubling every 5.5 days. When their numbers start to double every two days, then it takes about 10 days to ensure that the healthcare system is not overloaded.