German health minister open to deconfinement before end of winter

German Health Minister Jens Spahn is in favour of starting to relax coronavirus measures before the end of winter, he said on Thursday. “We can’t stay in this harsh confinement all winter, our society wouldn’t stand it well,” Spahn told regional press group Funke. In addition, “the figures are encouraging, we are seeing a significant downward trend in new infections,” the minister added. However, Spahn did not want to commit to a start of deconfinement from the start of February, whereas the restrictions have been programmed for the moment to last until the 14th of the current month.