Germany has banned gatherings of more than two people to control the spread of coronavirus.
Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the new measure to tackle Covid-19 this afternoon.
Armin Laschet, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia state, added the only exception would be if people were working on slowing the spread of the disease. He said: ‘The danger lies in the direct social interaction.’
Laschet confirmed the federal government and regional states had agreed on the stricter rules.
On Saturday the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany had risen by 2,705 within a day to reach 16,662, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said.
It added a total of 47 people had died after testing positive, an increase of 16 from a tally of 31 published on Friday.
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