Poland tops 1m cases, France clamps down on skiers: COVID-19 bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• Poland hasrecordedmore than 1 million cases since the start of thepandemicafter afurther13,855 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours.

• **The UK has become **

the first country in the world to approve thePfizer-BioNTech vaccine

for use and says it will be rolled out across the country from early next week.

•** Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa said a vaccine for all European countries will be a toppriority for the country** when it takes over the EU presidency inJanuary.

• The number of new deaths in Russia rose by 589 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic , to bring the cumulative toll to 41,053.

• France is to make random border checks to stop people getting infected by going to countries whereski resortsremain open ,according to the country's prime minister, Jean Castex.

• **UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock says there are no plans for a vaccine passport to allow travel after people have been inoculated **because "we don't yet know how much it [the vaccine] stops you transmitting COVID-19."

• **Japan has said it aims to allow"large-scale" numbers of overseas visitors to attend next year'sdelayed Olympic Games **without the need for mandatory vaccinations orquarantine,provided they submit a negative test result anddownload tracking apps.

• Norway has pulled out of December's World Cup cross-country skiing competitions in Germany and Switzerland amid fears of traveling during thepandemic.

• International arrivals into Spain fell 87 percent year-on-year, according to data from the country'sNational Statistics Institute.

• Italy is to launch itslarge-scale freevaccination program from early next year , with health workers and the elderly to be given priority,according to the country's health minister, Roberto Speranza.

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ACROSS EUROPE

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Officials plan to roll out the jab next week, with older people in care homes and front-line health workers among those who will get it first. The country has ordered 40 million doses.

Britain's regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved the use of the jab, which trials have shown is 95 percent effective against catching COVID-19.

Meanwhile, England has emerged from its second national lockdown of the year. It lasted four weeks and brought down infection rates in the country. But the economic damage could rise, with many shops, pubs and restaurants reopening for the first time since early November.

Trent Murray in Frankfurt

There have been 17,270 new cases of the coronavirus recorded in Germany, according to the latest data from the Robert Koch Institute. That's around 7 percent less than this time last week, showing the spread of the disease is slowing.

However, there have also been 487 new deaths reported, which is the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.

The data come as Germany's health minister, Jens Spahn, says all necessary preparations are being made to start vaccinations as soon as one is approved. "We are working flat out at all levels to prepare for future vaccinations. Our vaccination centers should be ready for use by mid-December," he said.

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use. /AP

Ross Cullen in Paris

President Emmanuel Macron is urging French citizens not to travel for Christmas skiing holidays in places such as Andorra or Switzerland, where ski resorts are still open.

The prime minister says there will be random tests at the border for people returning to France from a festive ski holiday abroad. Jean Castex says there will be an isolation period of seven days for people coming back from overseas winter sports breaks.

On Tuesday, Macron said: "We will have restrictive and dissuasive measures, which will be refined in the coming days with the government."

Resorts in France are still technically open but ski lifts and gondolas are closed and all equipment hire is closed. Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel recently called for a Europe-wide agreement to close all ski pistes until January.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

The first flights carrying coronavirus vaccines have passed through the Brussels Airport, positioning small quantities of the jabs for quick distribution once they are approved for use. Although large-scale distribution isn't expected to start until January. Brussels Airport, which already transits 20 percent of the global supply of vaccines, is expected to be a main distribution hub for the import and export of vaccines in Europe.

Meanwhile, the number of infections continues to slowly creep lower in Belgium. Just over 2,300 new infections were recorded on average in the past week. There are also now fewer than 4,000 COVID-19 patients in hospital.

Linda Kennedy in Budapest

A new vaccine website will be launched in Hungary, vakcinainfo.gov.hu,but the country's national chief physician says "no vaccine is suitable for Hungary yet."

The country recorded 3,951 rew infections over the past 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 221,073. The majority of the 154 deaths during the same period were elderly patients. The total number of fatalities now stands at 4,977.

The number of current active infections is 151,294, while 20 percent of the active infected, 23 percent of the dead and 25 percent of the recovered are from Budapest.

France is to make random border checks to stop people getting infected by going to countries where ski resorts remain open. /AP

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