Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch Covid-19, the health minister has said, reversing course after concerns have been raised that lifting quarantine restrictions will suggest the pandemic is over.

“Coronavirus is not a cold. That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Twitter, reports Reuters.

The minister added that he had made a mistake by suggesting an end to mandatory quarantine.

Under the existing rules, people with Covid must isolate for at least seven days. Lauterbach suggested last week a shift to a voluntary five-day period of self-isolation with the recommendation of a Covid test at the end of that time.