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TOP HEADLINES

• Russia's COVID-19 death toll has passed 7,000, with 143 more fatalities in the past 24 hours, according to the country's coronavirus crisis response center.

• Greece reopened its main airports to more international flights on Monday , with passengers from "high-risk" countries tested and quarantined if necessary. Restrictions remain for passengers from the UK and Turkey.

• England's non-essential shops are free to open from Monday , for the first time in 83 days. Outdoor markets and car showrooms reopened on 1 June.

•The World Health Organization's regional European director Hans Kluge has warned that lockdown restrictions in England should not be further eased until the government's contact-tracing system is proved to be "robust and effective."

•France's health minister, Olivier Veran, says COVID-19 has peaked but urged vigilance. "The largest part of the epidemic is behind us but the virus is not dead," he said on Monday, after

president Emmanuel Macron's TV address hailed the "first victory" over COVID-19

•Denmark has announced a slimmed-down stimulus package as it starts to phase out generous aid initiatives introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. The country has injected more than $45 billion into the economy during the pandemic.

•France's finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said working from home is "preferable" but "not the panacea" as the country seeks to reopen its economy.

• UK shopping footfall was down 81.6 percent in May year-on-year , a slight improvement on April's 84.7 percent fall, according to the British Retail Consortium.

•Czechia has passed the 10,000-case mark. The country of 10.7 million has suffered a total of 329 deaths.

•Budget airline easyJet returned to the skies on Monday for the first time since 30 March, with a small number of mainly domestic flights. Passengers must wear face masks.

•Three weeks after declaring it was COVID-free, Montenegro has reported a new case – a visitor from Bosnia. The Balkan country of 620,000 people has so far reported 325 cases and nine deaths.

Crowds gathered at London's NikeTown outlet as English non-essential shops were allowed to reopen for the first time since March. /Matt Dunham/AP Photo

In the UK I would say this is a very active phase in the pandemic so [be] more, let's say, careful

Hans Kluge, World Health Organization director for Europe

ACROSS EUROPE

Ross Cullen in Paris

President Emmanuel Macron told the French people the country has won the first battle in what he described as "a long war against COVID-19." In his fourth address to the nation since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the president said all cafes and restaurants can now open across the country; this particular announcement came a week earlier than expected.

All of France, apart from two overseas territories, is now considered to be a "green zone" in which the coronavirus is only circulating at a low level. All primary and secondary schools will reopen nationwide from 22 June and the president said he now hopes to focus on economic revival, aiming to build "a strong, lasting and environmentally friendly economy."

Isobel Ewing in Budapest

The output of Hungary's automotive industry plunged 80 percent year-on-year in April due to shutdowns at major manufacturing sites, according to the country's statistics office.

On a monthly basis, output fell 30.5 percent in April, following a 10.4 percent slide the previous month – the first back-to-back monthly double-digit decline on record.

As vehicle manufacturing fell by 94 percent and parts manufacturing by 69 percent, the automotive sector accounted for about 10 percent of Hungary's industrial output for the month, compared with 25-26 percent in most months.

Suzuki, Daimler and Audi closed their Hungarian operations for April. The three companies have a combined 5 percent share of the country's GDP and including suppliers, the vehicle sector accounts for roughly 9 percent of total output.

Ira Spitzer in Berlin

Germany reopened land borders at midnight local time on Monday, ending almost three months of strict border controls – although entry from non-European countries is still being tightly controlled.

While Germany has posted a dramatic decrease in new infections over the past two months, church services have been the cause of at least two outbreaks. A cluster of 112 infections has been traced to a church service in the town of Bremerhaven earlier this month.

Berlin will launch its coronavirus tracing app on Tuesday, according to the country's health ministry. The app, which is voluntary, uses Bluetooth to inform users if they have been close to another user with a confirmed coronavirus infection. The telecoms company Deutsche Telekom and software giant SAP helped develop the app.

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

From Monday, thousands of German tourists will be allowed to fly to Spain's Balearic Islands in a two-week trial designed to test coronavirus precautions. About 10,900 German tourists will arrive over the next few days, with most staying in Mallorca, the largest of the Balearics.

The holidaymakers won't be subject to a COVID-19 test, but will have to fill out a detailed questionnaire and receive temperature checks on arrival. While the tourists won't have to go into a 14-day quarantine, they will have to stay a minimum of five nights.

The safe tourist corridor initiative comes a week before Spain prepares to reopen its borders to EU countries on 21 June. The government of Pedro Sanchez is under huge pressure to reactivate the tourism sector, which generates 12 percent of the nation's GDP.

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