TOP HEADLINES

· Switzerland has announced a wave of new restrictions including a nationwide obligation to wear masks and a ban on large-scale public gatherings.

· UK scientific advisor Jeremy Farrar says an immediate three-week national lockdown is needed to halt the rising number of cases.

· A restaurant in Hungary has staged a skyline dining event on the Budapest Eye ferris wheel to generate sales in a coronavirus-proof environment.

· High streets in Paris and eight other French cities were deserted on Saturday night after a new 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was introduced to curb a rise in cases.

· A record 11,120 chain store outlets were forced to close in the UK in the first six months of this year after being hit hard by lockdown.

· The Italian government has approved a new stimulus package in its 2021 budget to foster an economic rebound from the recession caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

· Russia on Sunday recorded 15,099 new coronavirus cases, pushing the national tally to 1,399,334, officials said.

· The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 5,587 to 361,974, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

· The Irish cabinet will discuss moving into its strictest level of COVID-19 restrictions on Monday. This fifth tier of measures would ban visits between households, although schools, creches and essential retail shops would remain open.

· People from English towns and cities in the higher restriction categories could be fined if they enter Wales, which has used its devolved powers to bring in the punishments.

· Anti-lockdown demonstrators gathered in central London on Saturday, hours after the capital went into the country's second-highest COVID-19 alert level.

ACROSS EUROPE

Andrew Wilson in UK

There are reports of optimism about the introduction of an NHS vaccine by December. Trials show it will cut infections and save lives.

The deputy chief medical officer is said to have revealed that stage three trials of the vaccine produced at Oxford University have prompted plans to train thousands of NHS staff to administer the vaccine.

People in England who have been told to self-isolate could find their details being shared with the police because of concerns of public resistance to taking appropriate measures.

A recent survey suggested that just under 11 percent of people traced as a close contact of an infected person said they self-isolated for 14 days as required by law.

There is still no resolution to the standoff between Downing Street and Greater Manchester as the local authority continues to resist government calls to move up to top-level restrictions.

CLICK: ACROSS EUROPE EMPLOYERS ARE BEING ASKED TO SUPPORT THOSE WORKING FROM HOME

Alex Fraser in Milan

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will announce new restrictions that he hopes will slow the rate of infections after a record spike in cases this week in Italy.

New daily cases of COVID-19 overtook records from March and April, and numbers have doubled since last weekend.

The region of Lombardy, the epicenter for cases in Europe during March, again has the highest number of new daily cases with 2664 on Saturday. The city of Milan accounted for more than half of the total of new infections.

New restrictions are expected to include nationwide bar closures at 9pm each night with restaurants closing at midnight, a ban on amateur contact sports and staggered opening hours for schools.

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

Spain's health minister says he expects more localized lockdowns over the coming months, but that they would tend to last just a few weeks.  

Last Thursday Catalonia ordered bars and restaurants to close for 15 days in a bid to halt the spread of the virus. It's thought the partial shutdown in Catalonia could end up affecting 200,000 workers. 

Meanwhile the country's chief medical officer says the latest COVID-19 figures suggest Spain's second wave was starting to stabilize. Fernando Simon said while the number of new infections was still rising, it was doing so at a slower rate than before.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

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CGTN America: U.S. health experts warn against 'herd immunity' 

CGTN Africa: Tunisia's total COVID-19 cases exceed 40,000

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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.