Germany remains far from a return to normal life amid persistently high coronavirus rates, Germany's health minister said Wednesday as the daily death toll crossed 1,000 for the first time.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn addresses a press conference addresses a press conference in Berlin, Germany, on December 30, 2020, to comment on the current situation amid the new coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination campaign in Germany. (Photo: AFP)

"The infection and death figures show that we are still very far from normality," Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin.

"I don't see how, in this situation, we can return to how things were before the lockdown," he added.