As Germany and the world face the COVID-19 pandemic, next week's Easter holidays will be "completely different than any we had before," Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a video address on Friday, EDNews reports citing Deutsche Welle.

Merkel warned that the virus was still quickly spreading through Germany and described the country's anti-pandemic effort as a "Herculean task." At the same time, she noted that the rise in confirmed infections "is now a bit slower than it was just a few days ago."

"It is true that the latest numbers... as high as they are, very cautiously give a bit of hope," she said.

However, it is "definitely too soon to recognize a definite trend, and it is way too soon to start loosening any of the strict rules we have imposed on ourselves."

The measures are "literally of life importance," she added.