German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that the lockdown in Germany has been extended until Jan. 10, 2021.

A five-hour meeting between Chancellor Merkel and the Prime Ministers of German federal states on Dec. 2, 2020 resulted in another extension of the lockdown. The German federal government and federal states authorities (Bund und Länder) concluded that the country is still far away from the proclaimed goal, which is less than 50 new daily infections per 100,000 citizens.

Theaters, opera houses, and concert halls will remain closed.

“If the epidemiological situation continues to develop as in the last few days, we will meet again on January 4 and make new decisions,” stated Chancellor Merkel.

Germany is battling a fierce second wave of new COVID-19 cases, with over 20,000 new daily cases being reported since November 2020.