Germany could close borders, Spain's mobile jabs: COVID-19 bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• **Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Germany could consider closing its borders **if other European countries do not act quickly to slow the spread of the virus across the continent.

• The situation in France is likely to be "very tough" in the coming weeks due to the emergence of a more contagious variant, according to Karine Lambone, the head of infectious diseases at Paris's Saint Antoine Hospital.

• Health workers in northern Spain have deployed a mobile vaccination trailer that enables the elderly to get easier access to shots. The truck goes from village to village delivering doses to those most in need.

• The UK reported a further 1,610 new deaths in the past 24 hours, its highest daily number since the start of the pandemic , as the new variant continues to cause a surge in infections across the country.

• **EU member states are expected to agree on a form of vaccination certificate by the end of the month **but have no plans to give travel rights to document holders, the European Commission has said.

• Norway said that no link had been established between the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the 33 deaths among elderly people who had received their first dose of the jab.

• The delayed Tokyo Olympic Games looks "unlikely" to go ahead this summer as the pandemic continues to surge across the world, according to the deputy chairman of the London 2012 Olympics organising committee, Keith Mills, who called on Japanese officials to make plans to cancel the event.

• Russia has reported a further 21,152 new cases in the past 24 hours , while fatalities also rose by 587 bringing the overall death toll to 67,220.

• A further two tennis players due to compete in the Australian Open grand slam tournament have tested positive , bringing the case total to 10 people associated with the event, including four players.

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THE HOPE IS THAT EVERY DOG IN EUROPE WILL HAVE A HOME

ACROSS EUROPE

Andrew Wilson in the UK

There are reports today suggesting supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be getting tight after the numbers of people who received jabs fell over the past three days.

But ministers insist they are still on target to vaccinate the four most vulnerable groups by the middle of February.

There are also reports that cabinet officials are starting to draw up early plans for lifting the national lockdown. At the moment it's said to be based on easing restrictions towards Easter using the previous system in reverse, with most of the country going back to Tier 4 to begin with.

The NHS has reported a sharp drop in patients admitted to hospitals in England with heart attacks or heart failure as people who require need urgent medical care are becoming reluctant to seek it.

We can do anything we like, but we will not succeed if others are not working in parallel

• Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor

Mia Alberti in Budapest

Hungary will receive a new shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday, which will allow around 36,000 people to get inoculated. The jab will be used primarily on healthcare workers.

Authorities, however, continue to criticize the EU for being too slow in delivering the vaccine. Health regulators continue to study China's Sinopharm vaccine.

Meanwhile neighboring Serbia has become the first European country to use a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine.

Serbia took delivery of a million doses of the product on Saturday and the country's health minister also received the vaccine. He said Serbia was trying to protect itself against the stronger strains of the virus, already detected in Hungary.

01:44

Ross Cullen in Paris

An investigation is under way into the deaths of five people in France after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The government is holding a review today to assess if, when and how to reopen the culture, hospitality and sporting sectors in February. A 'health defense council' of senior ministers is also taking place this morning. Both meetings come before Thursday's weekly government news conference.

Ski resorts will also find out today if they can reopen for the winter holiday season (February 6 to March 1).

The threat of the spread of the variant first discovered in the UK is materializing in France. According to projections by the National Institute of Medical Research this variant could become "dominant in France between late February and mid-March."

Lucy Hough in Brussels

Reports in Belgian media suggest a missing signature caused Belgium to miss out on two and a half million coronavirus vaccines.

In mid-November, the European Commission alongside EU member states placed an order for 200m Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Under the order, Belgium was due to receive about five million doses.

A month later another order was placed for an additional 100 million vaccines, but Belgium's medicines agency forgot to sign the participation document.

While daily new infections drop below 2,000, there are signs the R number in Belgium has risen above 1.0.

A further 248.7 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, a 20 percent increase from the week before. The uptick is likely caused by the Christmas holidays and travelers returning home.

Health workers in northern Spain have deployed a mobile vaccination trailer that goes from village to village delivering shots to the elderly. /AP

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