Europe deaths top 300,000, Hungary's new measures: COVID-19 bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• **Italy's regions ofTuscany, Umbria, Basilicata, Liguria and Abruzzohave been upgraded to"orange zones" **after a recent surge in cases. FromWednesday, the area'sbars and restaurants will be closed and people won't be able to travel beyond their town or city.

• **Norway's government has granted anexception from its 14-day self-isolation period for **people arriving in the country to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in December.

• **COVID-19 deaths inEurope have passed 300,000 **according to a Reuters tally, with the continent accounting for almost a quarter of global deaths.

• **World Health Organization special envoy David Nabarro has urged people to be "careful" when UK students return to university **after the Christmas period to avoid a spike in cases.

• Russia has reported a record high daily tally of 432 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to 31,593.

• The UK's biggest airport, Heathrow, has criticized the lack of government action after it recorded an 82 percent fall in passenger numbers in October in what the airport described as"the eighth consecutive month of catastrophic decline."

-** Greek football club Olympiakos has slammed three of its players for attending a party in Athens onMonday** while the country is under a strictlockdown.

• Italy's new infections rose by 35,098 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily risesince April 15.

• **TheEuropeanCommission is toauthorize thepurchase of 300 million doses **of thepotential vaccine produced by Germanydrugcompany BioNTech and U.S. firm Pfizer on Wednesday.

• Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced a limited lockdown fromWednesday morning. Secondary schools are closed, acurfew is in place from 8 p.m. local time to 5 a.m. and gatherings of all kinds are banned.

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ACROSS EUROPE

Trent Murray in Frankfurt

Just as German authorities might have been hoping new lockdown measures would be leading to a drop in COVID-19 cases, there's been another uptick today. The Robert Koch Institute's latest data point to 18,487 new infections compared with yesterday's figure of 15,322. There were also 261 COVID-19-related deaths recorded, which is the highest number in Germany since May 21.

Germany is now in its second week of a month-long partial lockdown, with bars and restaurants closed except for takeaway services and cinemas, theaters and gyms closed completely. Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to review the rules in the coming days with state premiers, to assess the effectiveness of the measures in light of the infection numbers. Authorities have stated there may be a need to extend the restrictions beyond one month if the situation isn't brought under control.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

Brussels

The European Commission will sign off on a deal for up to 300 million doses of a promising vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech. The companies said earlier this week that the jab is more than 90 percent effective.

Once received, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the plan is to deploy it quickly everywhere in Europe. It's likely that the doses would be available in the bloc in the first quarter of 2021. Front-line healthcare workers and vulnerable populations would be first in line.

Belgium

The number of COVID-19 patients in Belgian ICUs has fallen for the first time since September. There are now 1,470 people receiving intensive care. The number of hospital admissions is also falling, down 23 percent in the past week compared with the previous one. But COVID-19-related deaths continue to climb, now averaging 190 a day.

The Belgian Consultative Committee will meet on Friday to review coronavirus restrictions, but it's unlikely lockdown measures will change before early next month.

The European Commission is to authorize the purchase of 300 million doses of the potential vaccine on Wednesday. /AP

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

The UK government wants to set up a "student travel window" to allow tens of thousands of university students to return home for Christmas.

New guidance will tell institutions to give pupils staggered departure times between the week of December 3 to 9. All teaching will then have to move online from that date.

Many pupils have been stuck at universities and dormitories in recent weeks and are now under a national lockdown in England, which is set to end on December 2.

Elsewhere, London's Heathrow Airport reported an 82 percent fall in passenger numbers last month, as the economic cost of COVID-19 continues to mount.

And pressure on the government's response is likely to increase, too, after a group of politicians from the ruling Conservative Party have set up a dedicated group to fight any future lockdowns in England.

The Covid Recovery Group – which has more than 50 members – believes the financial damage caused by restrictions could be worse than the health implications of the virus.

Mark Webster in Budapest

As Hungary's new restrictions come into force, the government reported that the rate of infection is up 24 percent and the death rate from COVID-19 is up 28 percent.The official number of confirmed cases currently stands at 118,916.

From today, the curfew will start at 5 p.m, it was previously 8 p.m., and secondary schools and universities will do all teaching online. Though children under the age of 14 will still go to school, all those in education and the health sector have been promised weekly testing for the coronavirus.

The minister for foreign affairs and trade, Peter Szijjarto, has welcomed what he called "another step forward" in negotiations between the Russian authorities and a Hungarian pharmaceutical company for the production of a vaccine.

London's Heathrow Airport reported an 82% fall in passenger numbers last month. /AP

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