Lockdown Extension Looms in Germany as COVID-19 Case Numbers Rise

A man walks along a closed shop at the main shopping street Hohe Strasse amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Cologne, Germany, on March 18, 2021. Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters

BERLIN—German health minister Jens Spahn on Friday dampened hopes that further coronavirus restrictions will be lifted soon, saying rising infections could mean that curbs to slow the spread of the virus may have to be re-imposed.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn addresses a news conference on the AstraZeneca's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine amid a pandemic of the disease, at the Health Ministry in Berlin, Germany, on March 18, 2021. Odd Andersen/Pool via Reuters