Germany 'can and will' avoid second coronavirus lockdown as economy rebounds

Germany is in a V-shaped economic recovery as it bounces back more strongly than expected from the effects of the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy minister said Tuesday. German GDP is expected to fall 5.8 percent in 2020, a narrower recession than the 6.3 percent drop projected earlier, Peter Altmaier said, signalling that the country is emerging from the worst of the crisis. Altmaier said Germany 'can and will' avoid lockdowns like Germans lived through in March and April. 'Rising infection rates will be countered by targeted and regionally limited measures, so that the economic recovery can continue to develop gradually in the coming months,' he said