Germany to tighten COVID curbs but no national shutdown: Merkel

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will restrict the size of gatherings and fine people who flout tracking rules in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus over autumn and winter, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.

The restrictions would be targeted, as a further shutdown of the whole country needed to be avoided "at all costs", she said after a conference with the leaders of Germany's 16 states, adding that keeping the economy going was a priority.

By European standards, Germany has experienced relatively low infection and death rates so far during the pandemic, but Merkel said cases could hit 19,200 per day if current trends continued.

The country reported 2,089 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 287,421, with 9,471 fatalities, the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said.

"We have learned a lot and got through the summer well but we know a more difficult time lies ahead - autumn and winter - and a gradual rise, in some areas a significant rise in infections, is cause for concern," Merkel told reporters.

She said a "hot spot strategy" would limit private parties to 25 people and public ones to 50 in areas where the infection rate hit 35 per 100,000 over seven days.