The German Cabinet has approved a new set of national rules to combat the coronavirus, which would override state-level measures, sources told dpa on Tuesday.

The legislation – referred to as an “emergency brake” – would involve local night-time curfews and closing shops if infection numbers in any part of the country rise too high.

It still needs approval in parliament, where the government is seeking to use fast-track procedures to push it through quickly.

The move to impose national rules has been controversial in Germany, where a federal system means states have been able to largely decide how and when to combat local outbreaks.

Germany is facing a third wave of the pandemic, which Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday was “maybe the hardest” so far.