Germany's death toll has increased by 266 in the past day, according to the country's disease and control centre, marking the largest 24 hour increase in fatalities since the country's coronavirus outbreak began.

Overall, 2,373 people have now died form the virus in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute said.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 113,525, which marks an increase of 5,323 in the past 24 hours.

Merkel offers "cautious hope": German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged people to continue to observe social distancing rules over Easter, adding that the number of people infected with the virus is declining slightly.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel briefs the media in Berlin on April 9. Markus Shreiber/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

''The latest developments in the figures regarding the spread of the virus give reason for cautious hope," she said on Thursday. "The coronavirus curve is flattening out slightly and the number of those currently infected is declining slightly.''

Germany has so far been spared the vast death tolls seen in other major European countries like Italy and Spain, and has implemented a large-scale testing program to identify cases among its population.

Merkel added that the coronavirus pandemic will be ''with us some time to come'' and that a decision on if and how to ease the restrictions would be based on a broad scientific study published on next week.