Berlin (dpa) - German states are pushing for an extension of sweeping closures and restrictions well into December, ahead of a conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday to coordinate the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of that meeting, the premiers of Germany's 16 federal states were holding talks of their own on Monday to decide on their proposed course of action.

Draft proposals seen by dpa suggest extending a limit on gatherings to two households until December 20, with potentially looser rules for the Christmas holiday period still to be hammered out.

The states are also proposing a ban on fireworks over the New Year period.

Merkel and other leading politicians have been preparing the German public for an extension to the current shutdown, which was initially announced for the month of November, as daily rises in confirmed infections remain stubbornly high.

The German chancellor said on Sunday "that we have not yet come as far as we would like with the contact restrictions."

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller, who currently speaks on behalf of the 16 state premiers under a rotational system, agreed in comments to dpa: "We agree that a lot has already been achieved, but not enough."

Restaurants and pubs were shuttered again in Germany at the start of November, as well as theatres, museums and swimming pools.

The country has been seeing record rises in new coronavirus infections since October, with daily numbers at times exceeding 20,000.

On Monday, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control added 10,864 new cases to its tally of coronavirus infections confirmed in the nation so far. This was largely in line with the increase recorded on the same day last week.

The numbers are often lower on Mondays following a lag in testing over the weekend.

The total number of infections since the pandemic began now stands at 929,133, including 14,112 deaths from Covid-19, according to the RKI.

Merkel and the state premiers are under pressure to act on Wednesday, after they failed to agree on next steps at their last meeting a week ago.

Merkel had been seeking expanded mask rules in schools and tougher limits on socializing.

Under Germany's federal system, Merkel depends on the state leaders to enact sweeping policies designed to halt the spread of the virus. She has held frequent meetings with them throughout the pandemic to coordinate a nationwide response, with varying degrees of success.