TOP HEADLINES

- Ireland will extend its third coronavirus lockdown until March 5 and enact mandatory travel quarantines for the first time, Prime Minister Micheal Martin has announced.

- The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued fresh clinical advice for treating COVID-19 patients, including those displaying persistent symptoms after recovery, and also said it advised using low-dose anticoagulants to prevent blood clots.

- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has revealed its antibody cocktail was effective in preventing COVID-19 in people exposed to those infected with the virus in an ongoing late-stage trial.

- More than 100,000 people have now died of COVID-19 in the UK after a further 1,631 deaths were recorded on Tuesday – a total higher than Monday's tally.

- The European Union may restrict exports of vaccines from the bloc after learning it is likely to receive significantly fewer doses of the AstraZeneca jab in the first months of the year than expected.

- On Tuesday, Germany's Health Minister Jen Spahn voiced his support for the EU's proposals to introduce restrictions on vaccines.

- Nadhim Zahawi, the UK COVID-19 vaccine deployment minister, says the UK and EU should work together to ensure they both get the required doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine.

- The UK is set to announce new travel restrictions requiring UK citizens returning from abroad to self-isolate at quarantine hotels upon arrival.

- Anti-lockdown protests continued for a third night in the Netherlands, with police arresting 150 people in different cities, including Rotterdam, where tear gas was used to disperse crowds.

- UK unemployment hit its highest rate in nearly five years in the three months to November, when coronavirus cases began to rise for a second time and most of the country returned to a partial lockdown.

- The number of global cases is drawing close to 100 million. So far, 99, 786, 313 people have contracted the virus across the world.

ACROSS EUROPE

Ryan Thompson in Frankfurt

Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported 6,408 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday morning, down from 6,887 on Monday. It's an early indication that weeks of tough measures might be starting to prove effective. 

The number of new cases reported early in the week are typically lower because access to testing is limited over the weekend. However, epidemiologists do say the country’s seven-day average appears to be falling and might soon drop below 10,000 cases. 

German media are reporting that Chancellor Angela Merkel is insistent on rates dropping even lower than that – and once they reach a desirable level, citizens must remain vigilant. Berlin wants to resume the work of contact tracers once Germany reopens public life, but that can only happen if the virus isn't too widespread. Merkel reportedly told colleagues, "we have to be even stricter, otherwise we'll be back where we were in 14 days," according to German newspaper Bild. The nationwide lockdown is set to expire on February 14.

Mia Alberti in Budapest

Hungarian authorities say they have "curbed" the epidemic after data showed the number of confirmed cases and deaths has been decreasing in the past few days. On Tuesday, 459 people tested positive for COVID-19 and 89 died, almost half of the numbers registered in recent days. The total number of confirmed cases is 360,877 and the total death toll stands at 12,113.

"The Hungarian epidemiological data are favorable and thanks to the consistent control, the epidemic has been curbed," the government said in a statement. However, authorities will maintain the current restriction measures, which include an 8 p.m. curfew, with restaurants and bars closed.

The current measures were supposed to be lifted on February 1 but the government is expected to extend the restrictions this week.

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London 

The UK government is expected to announce mandatory hotel quarantines for travelers from high-risk countries on Tuesday.

The move has been debated by the government over the past week and will mean UK citizens arriving from countries such as South Africa or Brazil would need to isolate in a hotel room for 10 days.

Interestingly, travelers will be asked to foot the bill themselves, which could prove a deterrent to flying but with travel to most of the world currently banned anyway, it's unclear how much impact this will have.

Elsewhere, British drugmaker AstraZeneca is in the middle of a row with the EU over vaccine supplies. The bloc has warned it could restrict exports of jabs made in the EU after AstraZeneca fell behind in providing its contractual supplies to European nations.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

Belgium

Fears are rising that a third wave of coronavirus is rushing towards Belgium as the number of new infections and hospital admissions continues to rise. An average of 2,120 people tested positive in the past week, up 5 percent from the week before. Hospital admissions are also up 17 percent. The number of infections among children has also risen sharply, up 60 percent in the past week. Although some of this could come down to increased testing. 

As of Wednesday, all non-essential travel to and from Belgium will be banned as the country tries to contain the spread of new, highly transmissible variants. This is above and beyond steps other member states have taken.

The EU

Brussels is calling for new vaccine export controls to be put in place as soon as possible as the fallout from AstraZeneca's shock cut to vaccine deliveries escalates. Two rounds of talks with the Anglo-Swedish firm on Monday ended in what the European Health Commissioner called "dissatisfaction" with "insufficient explanations" for the supply shortfall. Suspicions are growing that AstraZeneca diverted jabs bound for the bloc to other countries that were willing to pay a higher price for the vaccine. 

The export controls would require any company manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines in Europe to give early notification of any international shipments of the jab. 

The Commission and AstraZeneca will resume talks on Wednesday. The health commissioner said in a late-night tweet that Europe wants a detailed plan on vaccine deliveries and distribution. 

Ross Cullen in Paris

"Going by our data and details, there is no immediate reason to bring in another lockdown right now," says the French industry minister. Agnes Pannier-Runacher says the government is paying close attention to the spread of the new variants. She says that "at the end of the week we will analyze the effects of the curfew." 

The French president had been expected to give another address to the nation this week about a possible third national lockdown. But Emmanuel Macron will now wait longer to see if the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is having an effect on the coronavirus infection rate and on the number of hospital admissions. One idea the government is said to be considering is a national lockdown, but one that is only in effect at the weekends.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

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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.