(Bloomberg) --
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has agreed with regional states to extend the nationwide lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus for another two weeks until April 19.
A little over a week after banning gatherings of more than two people, the government continues to ask Germans to avoid contact with people outside their own household, the chancellor said in a statement on Wednesday after speaking with the premiers of the country's 16 states. The government wants to revisit those measures after Easter.
With 72,914 infections, Germany has the third-largest outbreak in Europe. The disease has caused 793 deaths in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The German leader has had three negative tests after entering a precautionary quarantine at home after she learned that she had come in contact with a doctor who later tested positive.
Read more: Quarantined in Berlin, Pressure Rises on Merkel to Save Europe
Alongside efforts to slow the spread, Germany is battling to limit the economic damage from halting large swathes of the economy. Merkel's government last week secured emergency spending powers to unleash a historic rescue package worth more than 750 billion euros ($824 billion). The measures -- financed by 156 billion euros in new debt -- include higher social spending, loan guarantees for businesses and funds to potentially buy stakes in stricken companies.
Merkel, who has called the crisis Germany's biggest challenge since World War II, said the country's lockdown rules need time to have an effect before they can be eased.
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