COVID-19 cases are expected to surge in Germany this winter, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said, criticizing plans by four states to relax isolation rules for infected people.

Fearing that the number of infections could rise, Lauterbach said: "Then we would have an even stronger wave than we already fear and we are on the eve of a more infectious variant."

The regional administrations of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein have not received federal government approval, Lauterbach added on the sidelines, where about two-fifths of the country's population lives, announced in a joint statement that they plan to lift the national five-day quarantine period, meaning that those who test positive but feel well can leave their homes if they wear a mask.