The number of daily Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the UK has hit a record high for a third consecutive day. A total of 873,784 combined first and second doses were given on Saturday, up from 711,157 on Friday.more
Germany is buying up Easter trips to the Balearic Islands en masse, and Madrid has been flooded by tourists, mainly from Western Europe. Great Britain and Belgium have banned their nationals from taking foreign holidays. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also calls for the avoidance of unnecessary foreign travel.more
People may need to wear face coverings and socially distance for several years until we return to normality, a leading epidemiologist has predicted. Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at Public Health England, said basic measures could be in place until other countries successfully roll out jabs.more
On the first day of lockdown, which was introduced in 16 of 101 French departments, the number of new infections in the last 24 hours increased by 35,327, the health ministry said. 185 people have died due to Covid-19, the ministry said.more
Spanish epidemiologists warn that with the increasing number of infections in most of the Autonomous Communities, the fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic has already started in Spain. They blame the increasing infections with the British variant for causing it.more
Thousands of people have attended anti-lockdown demonstrations in London, after MPs urged the government to allow peaceful protest during lockdown. Crowds marched from Hyde Park to Westminster, with at least 33 arrests by police, mostly for Covid breaches.more
The UK government says the first dose of a Covid vaccine has been given to half the country's adults. Health Secretary Matt Hancock says more people received a jab on Friday than on any previous day.more
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, dampens hopes for a normal opening of the summer holiday season. "We are still in a very difficult situation," she warned.more
No international fans will be permitted at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Japanese authorities told the Olympic and Paralympic committees it was "highly unlikely" that entry to the country could be guaranteed.more
52.2 percent of respondents who encountered reports on the potential side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine would drop out of it, according to a poll.more
The Queen’s official birthday celebration known as Trooping the Colour has been cancelled for a second year running. Last summer, an event dubbed “mini Trooping” was staged at Windsor Castle and the palace has said options for an “alternative parade” were being considered at the Queen’s Berkshire home.more
The UK has broken its record for the most Covid-19 vaccines administered in a single day. Some 660,276 jabs were given out on Thursday - 50,000 more than the previous record which was set on January 30, when 609,010 were done.more
Police are launching an investigation into Prime Minister Erna Solberg's birthday celebrations, which breached local and national Covid-19 restrictions.
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Boris Johnson has had the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. The prime minister, who is aged 56, got his first dose at London's St Thomas' Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care last April after contracting COVID-19.more
The president of the Polish Football Association, Zbigniew Boniek, informed on Twitter that the Polish national team would be able to complete the World Cup qualifying match with England in London. This means that Robert Lewandowski will play, which previously seemed difficult due to the pandemic restrictions. more
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has called for reciprocity on vaccine exports amid an ongoing row with the UK and US over jab deliveries.more
French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday announced that the Paris region, the northern Hauts-de-France region and several other departments in the south of France are going into lockdown for four weeks starting this weekend.more
The P.1 coronavirus variant detected in Brazil shows only a moderately greater ability to avoid antibodies generated in response to current vaccines, according to an Oxford study. The variant from South Africa shows the greatest resistance.more
Gibraltar has become the first place in the world where the entire adult population has been vaccinated against Covid-19, said British Health Minister Matt Hancock.more
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday declared the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safe for use after it was suspended by 13 EU member states. more
