TOP HEADLINES

· The German government has announced it will pump a further $11.8bn into the country's economy. Within the package is the extension of a scheme that tops up pay for workers who have had their hours reduced during the pandemic. 

· France has provided a $2.3 billion aid package for the arts and culture sectors, which have both been badly affected during COVID-19. 

· Croatia declared a record number of daily infections of 358 on Wednesday, as the summer tourism season brings a surge in cases. 

· Germany has decided to stop testing travelers returning from high-risk countries. Instead, it will require them to quarantine for at least five days instead. 

· The World Economic Forum, scheduled for January 2021 in Davos, Switzerland, has been postponed and rescheduled for early next summer amid fears surrounding the pandemic. 

· France's Prime Minister Jean Castex admits that life must return to some kind of normality, but citizens should not let their guard down amid rising numbers of infections across the country.

· The UK's Gatwick Airport announced plans to cut 600 jobs, 25 percent of its current workforce, due to a lack of demand in the aviation industry. 

· The French city of Marseille makes face masks mandatory across the city. All bars and restaurants in the Bouches-de-Rhone region, which includes Marseille, must close at 11 pm and not reopen again until 6 am.

· Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced that 2,000 members of the army will be deployed to help regional governments who are struggling to keep up with contact tracing after 81,000 new cases were confirmed in the last two weeks. 

· The UK government has announced children will have to wear face masks in schools, just days before teachers and pupils are set to return. 

· Therapeutics company Translate Bio said the experimental COVID-19 vaccine it developed alongside French drugmaker Sanofi induced an immune response in the early stages of non-human studies. The vaccine will now be tested on humans, starting in November.

· Hungary's schools can reopen from next week for the first time since March, according to the minister of human capacities, Miklos Kasler. 

ACROSS EUROPE

Ross Cullen in Paris

From Wednesday, France's second-biggest city, Marseille, is making face masks mandatory across the city, including all outdoor areas. 

Additionally, all bars and restaurants in Bouches-de-Rhone, the southern region that includes Marseille, must close between 11 pm and 6 am. 

The local authorities say they have made a move to confront the growing incidence rate of contracting the coronavirus, which currently stands at 191 per 100,000 people in the region. The French national rate is 33 per 100,000 people.

The prime minister says that face masks will not be provided free of charge to pupils ahead of the start of the new school year on 1 September. 

Jean Castex says the government has provided 50 million masks so far to vulnerable families. He also confirmed that the government's $118 billion recovery package for the French economy would be officially unveiled on 3 September.

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Iolo ap Dafydd and Andrew Wilson in London

Secondary school children in local lockdown regions of England will have to wear masks in corridors and communal areas where there's a high infection rate of coronavirus. It's a change in the UK government's previous stance, but Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says he is following advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Headteachers in schools will have "flexibility" on introducing masks in the classroom but in communal areas, it will be compulsory for pupils in Year 7 and above.

Why the change? It follows the WHO's advice that children older than 12 should wear face masks, just like adults. Scotland and Northern Ireland's decision to introduce masks also added pressure for England to follow. The Welsh government is reviewing its policy.

The Headteachers' Union warned of confusion and a lack of clarity. However, some Conservative MPs have criticized their own government for another U-turn, saying it suggests schools are unsafe.

Despite the prime minister's appeals to people to go back to work, the majority of government officials are expected to continue working from home until at least the end of the year. In a poll of Britain's biggest firms, none plan to force staff back to work any time soon.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

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CGTN China: Yan Bingyan: Pandemic inspires us to rationally develop film industry

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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.