"The upswing that was actually expected for spring is now more likely to set in from early summer," Deutsche Bank chief economist Stefan Schneider said.
"The prerequisite for this is that the infection rate declines as the weather warms up, and that there will be progress in vaccinations," Schneider added.
In the days leading up to the regional votes, Merkel's CDU and its CSU Bavarian sister party were also rocked by revelations of lawmakers apparently profiting from deals to procure face masks in the early days of the pandemic.
"We can only have more relaxation if there are stable or falling case numbers," Karl Lauterbach.
On Saturday, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by 12,674 and the death toll was up 239, with the number of cases per 100,000 over seven days jumping to 76.1 from 72.4.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the country's federal states have agreed to extend lockdown measures until March 7, according to a document outlining the agreement.
Russia on Friday announced the expulsion of diplomats from Sweden, Germany and Poland, accusing them of taking part in illegal protests last month against the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Chemicals giant Bayer, meanwhile, announced that from 2022 it would produce a coronavirus vaccine that fellow German pharmaceuticals company CureVac is developing.