TOP HEADLINES 

• France is to roll out on the-spot-tests for travelers, which French prime minister Jean Castex says will be for people arriving from 16 countries where COVID-19 is widely circulating. Castex said the tests would be for "French citizens who live in these countries, or citizens of these countries with an established residence in France."   

• Gyms reopen in England after four months on Saturday, with new safety measures including sanitizing equipment after use and staying in marked-off areas to maintain social distancing. Group exercise classes must be booked in advance and are outdoors. As pools open, Swim England has published COVID-19 guidance for pool operators, including implementing one-way systems and reducing the use of changing rooms. 

• The government of Catalonia in north-eastern Spain is to close all nightclubs and late-night bars in the region for the next two weeks due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

• France has warned its citizens not to travel to Catalonia while Norway has said it will start quarantining people arriving from Spain. 

• Obesity increases coronavirus risk, according to experts at Public Health England. A review of evidence says that excess weight puts people at higher risk of requiring hospital admission or intensive care, and the risk grew substantially as weight increased.

• Quarantined Spanish soccer club Fuenlabrada reported 12 more positive tests on Saturday, taking the total to 28. Club officials released a statement expressing "our deep pain and concern about the results of the latest tests."

• Russia reported 5,781 new coronavirus cases and 146 more deaths from coronavirus in the past 24 hours. 

• Governments are fast losing support for their handling of the coronavirus outbreak from a public that widely believes death and infection figures are higher than statistics show. The survey of six countries included France, Sweden, Germany and the UK. 

• Former Barcelona soccer star Xavi Hernandez has tested positive for coronavirus. His Qatari club Al-Sadd said he will miss their league restart fixture against Al-Khor. 

• Ukraine reported 1,106 new cases of the coronavirus in 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the 26 June peak of 1,109, said health minister Maksym Stepanov. 

• 15.7 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. While over 638,000 have died, more than 8.98 million people have recovered. 

ACROSS EUROPE 

Andrew Wilson in London 

Indoor sports facilities and swimming pools in England can open again today although distancing guidelines will be strict, and some facilities are expected to wait longer before opening their doors.

Public Health England has confirmed that excess body weight does put people at risk of needing hospitalization for COVID-19. The risk grows substantially as weight increases.

Beauty salons which offer treatments on eyelashes, eyebrows and threading have been told they can open from 1 August in England.

Europe is advising caution after lockdown as France, Germany, Spain and Belgium all reported steep rises in the number of coronavirus cases.

Greece 

Greece will prioritize giving coronavirus vaccines to the elderly and high-risk groups if and when they become available, said the country's health minister on Saturday. 

"If and when a vaccine comes, we will prioritize those who must take it above all," Vassilis Kikilias told Skai TV.

"Who is that? Our very aged fellow citizens, the very elderly, high-risk groups... we will protect those in danger."

Kikilias added that vaccines will not be compulsory but they will be "strongly recommended."

Greece has so far recorded 201 COVID-19 deaths and more than 4,100 infections.

Stefan de Vries in Paris

On Saturday, France had 180,528 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 1,130 over the last 24 hours. This sharp rise worries medical professionals. 

Although the number of hospitalized people is not increasing, French hospitals are more and more concerned about a new surge in COVID-19 infections. The next two weeks are crucial, according to health professionals.

On Friday, the French government decided to make corona tests mandatory for people arriving at air or seaports in the country from 16 countries. Amongst this group of "red zones" are the U.S., Brazil, Israel and Turkey.

The total number of deceased now stands at 30,192, of whom 13 died in the last 24 hours.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria's coronavirus cases tally passed 10,000 as the Balkan country reported 270 infections in the past 24 hours, according to official data. 

Eight people had died from COVID-19 overnight and the official death stands at 337. Total infections stand at 10,123. The data also showed some 5,252 people have recovered. 

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe podcast: Notes on a pandemic: When work stops working

CGTN China: COVID-19: Chinese mainland reports 29 new domestically transmitted cases

CGTN America: More "young invincibles" infected with COVID-19 in California

CGTN Africa: Ethiopia records highest single-day spike in COVID-19 infections

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded. Here you can read the essential information about the crisis.