TOP HEADLINES

- France's death toll has passed 60,000 after it announced a further 610 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, pushing the total to 60,229. 

- Austria is to enter its third COVID-19 lockdown from December 26, with people who test negative able to leave the measures sooner, the government said.

- The UK government has introduced tough new measures for London and other areas of England in response to the fast spread of a new strain of the COVID-19 virus that "is spreading very fast" according to its Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Scotland has also tightened restrictions though starting later.

- A Greek infectious disease expert Charalambos Gogos said that he believes that nationwide public health measures will last for at least the next two months as it attempts to slow the spread of the virus. 

- Austria expects to pay out an extra $1.2 billion to support business hit by the country's latest lockdown, the finance minister, Gernot Blümel said.

- Wales' first minister Mark Drakeford has announced new nationwide lockdown restrictions that will come into force from midnight on Saturday evening, while all holiday plans canceled except for Christmas Day. 

- Sweden's government has introduced its toughest measures yet to curb the spread of the virus, including a recommendation to wear a face mask at peak hours on public transport.

- The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been authorised for use in Switzerland following a two-month rolling review, with the country's regulator calling the jab "safe and that its benefit outweighs the risks."

- Bars, Restaurants and non-essential shops in Italy are to close nationwide between December 24 to December 27, December 31 to January 3 and January 5 to January 6 as the government attempts to prevent a further spread of infections during the holiday period. 

- A fire has broken out in a private hospital's intensive care unit in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep, killing at least nine people and injuring a further 11. The fire was caused by the explosion of an oxygen ventilator, the governor's office said. 

CLICK: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS ADVERT?

ACROSS EUROPE

Guy Henderson in London

The UK government has introduced tough new measures for some areas of England  in response to the fast spread of a new strain of the COVID-19 virus.

As of Sunday morning, the country's capital London as well as parts of the south east and the east will enter a new 'Tier 4', with restrictions likened to the first nationwide lockdown earlier this year. 

The new strain "could increase the R [rate of infection] by 0.4 or more and up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original disease," according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 

Those within the newly restricted areas are unable to mix with any other household during the festive period, leaving millions of people's Christmas plans in tatters.

Austria

Austria is to enter its third COVID-19 lockdown after Christmas, the government said.

The new lockdown will start on December 26 - just 11 days after its second lockdown ended.

All shops, restaurants, theatres, museums and schools will be able to reopen on January 18. 

Nationwide mass testing will begin on January 15, with those who test negative able to end their lockdown sooner. For those who do not get tested, lockdown will last until January 24. 

"The prognosis for all of Europe is a very, very dramatic one and we are now already seeing exploding infection numbers in many other countries," Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.

The country will however let ski resorts open their lifts despite the lockdown, although people will be required to wear a FFP2 face mask at all times while in them.

Natalie Carney in Munich

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Germany remains high, with the Robert Koch Institute announcing 31,300 new cases in the past 24 hours and 702 new virus-related deaths.

Eighty eight percent of all COVID-19 related deaths in the country have been of those over 70 years old.

With the Christmas holidays brought forward in Germany to December 19 many working parents have been struggling to find care for their children.

On Friday, the federal government approved compensation for parents who cannot go to work because daycare centers and schools are closed. 

The entitlement is valid for 20 weeks - ten weeks for mothers and ten for fathers or 20 for single parents. The regulation will apply retrospectively from December 16 and through the rest of the current lockdown, which ends on January 10, but can be extended. 

It has also been announced that neighboring Austria will go into a strict lockdown on December 26, It's the country's third lockdown this year.

Italy

Italy will be placed under a national lockdown for much of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the country's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, as the government try to prevent a surge of new infections. 

Under the new rules, non-essential shops will be shut between December 24 and  December 27, December 31 to January 3 and January 5 to January 6. People will only be allowed to travel for work, health or emergency reasons during those days. 

Shops will be able to open from December 28 to December 30 and on January 4, with people free to leave their houses at that time. 

However, throughout the holiday period, all bars and restaurants must remain closed. 

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