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The EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell has hailed the success of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine , adding that he hopes it will be approved for use in the bloc soon.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the European Union should have thought more about the challenges of vaccine mass production amid jab shortages in the bloc.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany is past the peak of the second wave of the virus, but added that restrictions would not be eased until more is known about the new variants of the virus.
**France's Prime Minister Jean Castex has ruled out a new nationwide lockdown for the time being **because the rate of infection had not significantly increased over the past fortnight.
However, new measures to slow the spread of the virus across France are "inevitable," according to Karine Lacombe, the head of infectious diseases at Paris's Saint Antoine hospital.
Hungary is to start vaccinating people with Russia's Sputnik V jab from next week, after it received the first 40,000 of the vaccine last week.
UK ministers have come under fire from critics who say the new quarantine hotels for overseas arrivals from"red list" countries are coming into effect too late. The government announced they will be implemented from February 15.
**The World Health Organization has said it is hoped that up to 90 million vaccines will be delivered to African countries **in February through the COVAX initiative.
New infections in Portugal are slowing , according to the Health Minister Marta Temido, but she insisted that "we nevertheless have difficult weeks ahead of us."
**The European Champions League soccer game between English club Liverpool and Germany's Red Bull Leipzig will not take place in Germany **after an application for special permission for Liverpool to enter the country was rejected amid fears over the new variants of the virus.
Russia has reported a further 16,688 new infections in the past 24 hours , while fatalities also rose, by 527, bringing the nationwide death toll to 75,732.

I can see a light shining at the end of the tunnel

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel

ACROSS EUROPE

Ross Cullen in Paris

France's prime minister said there will be no new lockdown in mainland France for now, adding: "The circulation of the virus has not markedly increased." Jean Castex says France has currently an average of 20,000 new cases, 1,600 hospitalizations and 320 deaths each day.

Castex said the variants of COVID-19 are "a very real threat" and if the health situation "badly deteriorates we will not hesitate in acting" but confirmed that right now "the situation does not justify one [a lockdown]."

However, the government says a new lockdown will now be imposed for at least three weeks on the island of Mayotte, France's south-east African overseas department between Mozambique and Madagascar.

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Castex says 1.7 million new vaccine appointments will be open to book in the next few days, with 500,000 slots open today, February 5.

The first vaccinations of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca jab will take place from February 6.

The government says all care-home residents in France will have received their first vaccinations by the end of this week and, overall, it aims to have vaccinated 4 million people with their first jab by the end of this month.

The interior minister said that since the start of the nationwide curfew on December 15, 177,000 fines have been handed out for breaking curfew rules.

New infections in Portugal are slowing, according to Health Minister Marta Temido. /AP

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

Travelers to the UK from 33 high-risk countries will have to pay to quarantine in hotels for 10 days from February 15.

The UK government announced the plans last month, before delaying details on how the scheme would work. Critics say the measures are coming into effect too late and many hotels still don't know how the rules will work.

But ministers have defended the plans, saying they are part of a range of measures aimed at preventing new variants of COVID-19 entering the country.

Meanwhile, the British Beer and Pub Association says 87m pints of beer will be thrown away as a result of coronavirus lockdowns. That's equivalent to more than $450 million in lost sales.