Merkel announces first steps to lift lockdown. Bundesliga return edges closer

German chancellor Angela Merkel has announced plans to let small shops reopen as early as next week after a four-week coronavirus lockdown, but Europe's largest economy will keep strict social distancing rules in place.

After much-anticipated talks with Germany's 16 state governors, the central government set out a plan for the first steps of a slow restart of public life on Wednesday.

Merkel said that the ban on gatherings of more than two people will remain in place and officials will review all the restrictive measures after 3rd May.

The move suggests that a restart to the Bundesliga season, perhaps with games played behind closed doors, might not be far off.