German political leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday as the nation prepares to scrap the last of its pandemic restrictions, even as COVID-19 cases soar.

At their last meeting in February, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the heads of the 16 state governments agreed to a gradual winding down of the main virus-containment measures, culminating this Sunday.

Mask-wearing and social-distancing rules are to remain in place.

However, some have called the exit plan into question as the national disease control institute reports the highest national infection rates seen in the country so far.

On Thursday, the number of cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period stood at 1651.4, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

With many local health authorities overwhelmed, experts have also warned that the scale of this wave may in fact be much higher.

The RKI reported that 278 COVID-19 patients had died over the past 24 hours, up from 259 a week ago.

Separately, a top court decided that those affected by lockdown measures were not entitled to state compensation for a loss of income.

The Federal Court of Justice rejected the lawsuit of a hotel owner against the state of Brandenburg, after his business was forced to close in spring 2020. 

(dpa/NAN)