'We're on the thinnest of ice': Angela Merkel warns Germans against complacency as country begins to ease lockdown

Merkel said that Germans still need to show "discipline and resilience" in their battle against Covid-19, even if there are fewer cases now. She told the Bundestag that the country was "in this for the long haul," reminding people that they couldn't afford to be complacent.

It is precisely because the figures give rise to hope that I feel obliged to say that this interim result is fragile. We are on thin ice, the thinnest ice even. We are still far from out of the woods. We are not living in the final phase of the pandemic, but still at the beginning.

Merkel believes that "endurance and discipline" at the start of this health crisis will ensure a faster and more sustainable return to economic, social and public life.

Lockdown restrictions in Germany are set to gradually be eased nationwide after May 3 with schools re-opening, along with some non-essential businesses such as hairdressers.

Merkel and state leaders are set to convene again on April 30 to consider the next steps that the nation will take beyond those already announced.

Germany has the fifth-highest Covid-19 caseload in the world but has managed to keep fatalities at a relatively low level. This has been attributed to early and extensive testing.

As of Thursday morning, confirmed cases in the country had increased by 2,352 to 148,046, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.