It has been nearly 10 days since far-reaching curfew restrictions were put into place in Bavaria with the hope of controlling the coronavirus pandemic.

And although it appears things are moving in the right direction as the rate of infections slows slightly, Söder said the measures need to be extended.

“The situation is still very, very serious,” said Söder during a press conference on Monday, as reported by the Augsburger Allgemeine. “Therefore, there is no reason to talk about giving the all-clear or raising false hopes.”

Initially the curfew, which stipulates that going outside is only allowed if there are good reasons for it such as necessary shopping, visits to the doctor, essential work or exercising, was to be in place for two weeks.

The current measures will not be tightened but they will be extended until the end of the Easter holidays, which finish on Sunday, April 19th.

At the federal level, it is also expected that restrictions will remain in place across Germany until at least this date.

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'We must save lives'

Söder compared the current situation with a serious illness. “If you get up too early, you risk relapse,” he said.

To those who are already struggling with the lockdown, Söder said: “It's necessary”, adding that it was not an over-cautious measure. “We must save lives,” he added.

So far, 14,437 people in Bavaria have tested positive for COVID-19 and 133 patients have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and the Robert Koch Institute.

Söder emphasized that the restrictions were beginning to show effect, saying that “the curve is flattening out”.

Cases in Bavaria were now doubling every five days rather than every 2.8 days.