Germany Sunday announced the imposition of tight restrictions on movement in Germany, out of fear that the virus will spiral out of control during the Christmas and New Year period.

Sunday, the German chancellor announced that non-essential shops, schools and nurseries will be closed from Wednesday until January 10.

"We are compelled to act and now we act," Merkel stressed, in light of the "significant increase in the number of deaths" caused by the virus and the "steady increase" in the number of infections.

Her statement comes on the heels of a meeting with the governors of the sixteen German provinces, with the aim of studying tightening restrictions, amid record additional numbers of cases during the past days.

The newspaper "Bild" called the meeting "the most important summit regarding coronavirus" since the outbreak of the pandemic.

After six weeks of closing restaurants, bars, theaters, cinemas, museums and sports clubs, the government deemed these measures insufficient.

Lothar Wheeler, head of the Robert Koch Health Institute, warned Thursday that "the situation is still very dangerous ... but has gotten worse since last week."

He said the pandemic continues to spread because the population has not limited enough social contact.

The number of additional cases between Friday and Saturday exceeded 30,000, which is much higher than what Germany had recorded during the first wave. Germany also recorded 598 deaths Thursday, which is a record number.

Some regions have not waited for the federal government's decision to initiate the closure, such as Saxony, the most-affected region in Germany, schools and stores have been closed since Monday.

Wednesday, Merkel called on Germans to reduce contact to the greatest extent possible, even during Christmas and New Year.

During the first wave, Germany did not experience such a strict closure as its European neighbors.