German companies expect further 8.5 months of pandemic restrictions

German companies expect public life to be restricted for a further 8.5 months due to coronavirus, a survey by the Ifo economic institute showed on Monday, as Europe’s largest economy battles to recover from a pandemic-induced downturn.

Leisure firms, hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, are particularly pessimistic, expecting restrictions to last another 13 months while the beverage sector is more optimistic, foreseeing an end to restrictions in 6.4 months.