A man, wearing a face mask, walks past a sign guiding people to the entrance of a corona testing station at a hospital in Berlin. (Photo: AFP)

BERLIN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Many German states including the state government of Germany's capital Berlin announced on Tuesday to make wearing face masks a mandatory measure against the spread of COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Berlin, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony-Anhalt announced some form of obligation to wear a protective face mask in certain public areas.

Thuringia, Bavaria and Mecklenburg Western Pomerania had already announced the obligation to wear a face mask earlier. Saxony, where the face mask regulation has been in effect since Monday, has been the first German state to make masks compulsory.

Bavaria's Minister President Markus Soeder stressed on Monday that mouth and nose protection would play a "very central role" in containing a further spread of the coronavirus.

In most German states, the obligation to wear a face mask or other protective cover will start during the course of next week. Most states like Bavaria require a face mask in shops as well as public transport while other states like Berlin only require citizens to wear a face mask in public transport.

Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the minister presidents of the federal states had not issued a nationwide regulation but merely "strongly recommended" the wearing face masks in buses and trains as well as in retail stores.

All German states that have issued a face mask regulation are also allowing self-sewn masks, scarves and cloths pulled over the face as a protective barrier.

On Monday, Merkel called for a "gradual" and "cautious" exit strategy from COVID-19 measure. "Despite everything, we are still at the very beginning of the pandemic and are far from out of the woods," Merkel said.