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Germany has emerged from the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, as she announced further loosening of the lockdown and social distancing, The Local reported. 

Following a meeting with Germany's 16 state leaders, Merkel said the "very first phase of the pandemic is behind us".

Germany is now at a point "where we can say that we have reached the goal of slowing down the spread of the virus," Merkel said. But she added that there is still a "long struggle" ahead.

There have been a total of around 167,000 coronavirus infections in Germany so far (as of Wednesday May 6th), with around 6,990 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. A total of 135,200 people are reported to have recovered.

The increase in new infections has slowed down, according to the Robert Koch Institute for disease control.

"By and large, we have succeeded in tracing the infection chains," said Merkel during the press conference, adding that figures gave a positive outlook.

Merkel said there had been a "very long" discussion about how to ease lockdown and social distancing measures in Germany.

The government and states have decided to extend social distancing restrictions, which include keeping a minimum distance of 1.5 metres from other people in public, until June 5th.

But, Merkel emphasised once again that there is still "a very clear restriction on contact" and urged people in Germany to follow the rules.