FRANKFURT, Germany — German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is seeking protection from creditors to stay afloat, it said on Wednesday, after nationwide store closures to help to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Galeria said that all its outlets have been closed since March 18, leading to about €80 million ($87.5 million) of lost weekly revenue while the company continues to incur the bulk of the costs.

"The goal of the protection proceedings under self-administration is to make use of legal options to cope with the store closures imposed by authorities without a massive increase in financial debt," it said in a statement made available to Reuters.

Germany's federal and state governments last month agreed to shut non-essential shops as part of sweeping rules to slow the spread of the virus.

The company's filing, which also covers sporting goods retailer Karstadt Sports, had been accepted by a court in the city of Essen, it added.

Frank Kebekus has been named preliminary administrator, a spokeswoman for Duesseldorf-based insolvency law firm Kebekus und Zimmermann said, confirming a report by weekly WirtschaftsWoche.

The store chain's owner Signa, the investment vehicle of Austrian property and retail investor Rene Benko, was not immediately available for comment.

By Ludwig Burger; Editor: David Goodman