Lithuania's 'corona pass', cases spike in Germany: COVID-19 bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• ** New variants of the virus have the potential to spread quickly across the UK** , warned the London regional director of Public Health England, Kevin Fenton. "And that is why we have such a proactive program of screening for and testing for the new variants and, where we have found, we surge," he added.

• Germany's new cases rose by 29,426 in the past 24 hours, the biggest daily increase since February 8 . Meanwhile the country's health minister, Jens Spahn, has once again urged regional leaders to impose tougher restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

• This summer's delayed Tokyo Olympic Games could still be canceled if the pandemic spirals out of control. Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, said: "If the Olympics were to spread infection, then what are the Olympics for?"

• Portugal has extended its state of emergency for a further 15 days as the country continues to battle against the latest wave of the virus.

• Serbia has become the first country in Southern Europe to begin production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine , the Russian Direct Investment Fund has confirmed.

• **Spain remains confident it will be able to meet its vaccination targets despite the U.S. suspending the use of the Johnson Johnson jab **following reports of a small number of blood clots, and the delays the suspension will have on the jabs' roll-out across Europe.

• Belgium is to begin to ease its lockdown measures next week as case numbers continue to fall .From next Monday, schools will reopen and a ban on non-essential travel will be lifted. The government has also said restaurants and bar terraces will be able to reopen from May 8 for outdoor consumption, barring a new surge in infections.

• Lithuania plans to launch a nationwide digital immunity certificate by early May , which would allow some people who have been vaccinated to bypass some lockdown restrictions, the country's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said. "This will be an incentive for the decision to get vaccinated," Simonyte added.

• **AstraZeneca has said it "recognizes and respects the decision taken by Sundhedsstyrelsen [health agency] in Denmark," **after it decided to halt the use of the company's Vaxzevria vaccine following a small number of blood clot reports in patients who had the jab.

• Ireland is on track to ease restrictions from May 4 , Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday. "What we're planning is allowing more outdoor activities, a phased reopening of retail and personal services but what we'll also do at the end of April is develop the plan for June and July," he added.

Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn has once again urged regional leaders to impose tougher restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. /AP

ACROSS EUROPE

Penelope Liersch in Budapest

Hungary will reopen outdoor dining once 3.5 million people have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. Prime Minister Viktor Orban expects the vaccination figure will be reached on Wednesday or Thursday of next week. So far, close to 3.1 million people have had their first jab and more than 1.2 million people have had a second dose.

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Hungary has dropped below 10,000 for the first time in weeks and the number of patients on ventilators has dropped significantly to less than 1,200. In the past 24 hours, 256 people have passed away from COVID-19 – the lowest number of daily deaths this week.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

Belgium

Belgium is headed into a "cautious" easing of lockdown measures. From next Monday, children will head back to school and a ban on non-essential travel will be lifted. The government has also approved the reopening of restaurant and bar terraces for outdoor consumption from May 8, barring a new surge in infections.

Case numbers have been falling over the past couple of weeks, with an average of 3,436 new infections a day, down 19 percent. The country's vaccination drive has also managed to pick up pace, but could lose steam as Johnson Johnson hits pause on its EU roll-out over blood clot concerns.

Brussels

Brussels has hinted it won't renew its contracts with AstraZeneca and Johnson Johnson. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc needs to focus "on technologies that have proven their worth: mRNA vaccines are a clear case in point."

That's what she said just before announcing that Brussels had launched a new round of negotiations with Pfizer and BioNTech for 1.8 billion COVID-19 doses of their vaccine through 2023. Moderna's vaccine also uses mRNA technology.

The AstraZeneca and Johnson Johnson vaccines have come under scrutiny over possible links to very rare blood clots. Several EU member states have put restrictions on their use, while Denmark has permanently withdrawn the Astra shot from its vaccination arsenal.

AstraZeneca has said it 'recognizes and respects' Denmark's decision to halt the use of its Vaxzevria jab. /AP

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

The UK's equality watchdog has warned COVID-19 certificates could be "unlawful."

The so-called COVID passports would create a "two-tier society, whereby only certain groups are able to fully enjoy their rights," said the independent Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The government is planning to use the certificates to safely reopen society but the latest warning could signal potential legal problems.

More than 32m people have now received a first dose of the vaccine in the UK.

And university students in the country have been told they will be allowed to return to classrooms next month. The plan would see face-to-face teaching resume no sooner than May 17.

Trent Murray in Frankfurt

The latest data from Germany's Robert Koch Institute show there have been 29,426 new COVID-19 infections recorded. That's a 44 percent increase compared with the same day last week and shows the third wave is gathering pace.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government is working desperately to push through a new law to allow her to introduce a national lockdown.

But Health Minister Jens Spahn has appealed to regional leaders not to wait for that law to pass to enact localized lockdowns. He told reporters in Berlin: "It is a good thing that we are working to soon have a uniform regulation. But they [states] shouldn't wait until next week."

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