BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with leaders of Germany's 16 federal states to extend and tighten measures against the coronavirus until at least Dec 20 and they are likely to extend them into January, she said on Wednesday .
However, rules will be eased over the Christmas holidays to let families and friends celebrate together. From Dec 1, private gatherings will be limited to five people. Over Christmas, that number will rise to 10, not counting children, though Wednesday's decisions included an appeal to avoid social contact for a week ahead of family visits.The number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 18,633 to 961,320, daily data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday, 5,015 less than the record increase reported on Friday.
"The exponential growth of infection numbers has been stopped, the steep curve has been turned into a flattened curve," Merkel said."But we cannot be content with this partial success," she added.
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