Merkel says too early to ease lockdown in Germany despite signs of slowdown in virus spread

• "The government and I personally are thinking about how we can simultaneously achieve two things: securing health protection for all, and also starting a process so that public life returns step by step."

"The government and I personally are thinking about how we can simultaneously achieve two things: securing health protection for all, and also starting a process so that public life returns step by step."

She added that tackling the pandemic was a "Herculean task.