(Bloomberg) -- German Health Minister Jens Spahn suggested ending the mask mandate for outdoor activities as Covid-19 infections recede.

“With falling incidence rates, we should proceed in stages,” Funke Media Group quoted Spahn as saying in an interview. “As a first step, compulsory masks can be dropped outside.”

Face masks will remain recommended “when in doubt,” for instance when traveling or meeting indoors, he said.

Daily deaths in Germany attributed to Covid-19 declined to 18, the Robert Koch Institute health agency said on its website Sunday, the fewest since October.

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