Senior politicians in Germany have begun debating a potential easing of restrictions imposed over the coronavirus epidemic ahead of a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday. On Monday, Merkel and premiers of Germany’s 16 states expect to get recommendations from the German National Academy of Sciences that the chancellor has said will weigh heavily in considerations for a possible loosening in movement and social distancing rules in place since around mid-March. The discussion takes place as the number of new infections and deaths declines in Germany, which has weathered the pandemic better than European neighbours Italy, Spain and France.
