In a dialogue with the president earlier this year, relatives of coronavirus victims voiced their loneliness.
Michaela Mengel broke down in tears as she recalled her daughter's last minutes as she died from the coronavirus in hospital.
"Last time I saw her alive was on Christmas Eve when I had to leave the hospital. She had oxygen piped into her nose, she looked at me with her big eyes," Mengel told the president.
"Since she could not talk I told her, bye my dear, I love you, mama will be back."
Steinmeier stressed that it was important to look beyond the daily victim counts.