TOP HEADLINES

• Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi has replaced the country's special COVID-19 commissioner Domenico Arcuri with Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, an army general in charge of logistics, as the country attempts to speed up vaccinations.

• Sardinia has become the first region in Italy to be classified as a "white zone," meaning many coronavirus restrictions have been dropped. Meanwhile, other regions have been upgraded to "orange" or "red" zones amid a sharp rise in infections nationally.

• Tighter lockdown measures restricting movement in Czechia have come into force as the government battles the world's highest per capita death rate from COVID-19. Travel is limited to within citizens' home towns and districts, except for work or care-giving purposes.

• The European Commission will present a proposal in March on creating an EU-wide digital COVID-19 vaccination passport that may allow Europeans to travel more freely over the peak summer holiday period.

• The Finnish government has declared a state of emergency over rising coronavirus infections and the prevalence of new variants. The measures, confirmed by Prime Minister Sanna Marin, will allow the government to further shut schools and limit movement between regions, with the country's borders already closed.

• Health authorities in the UK have confirmed that six cases of the 'P1' COVID-19 variant, first identified in Brazil, have been found in England and Scotland. Two of the three people with the virus in England had a history of travel to Brazil, but the as-yet unidentified third did not. The government is facing urgent calls to impose tougher border measures.

• Norway's capital Oslo is ramping up its coronavirus restrictions after a surge in infections connected to the more transmissible variant first detected in the UK. All restaurants (except takeaway services) and non-essential shops will have to close from Tuesday. Older secondary school pupils will return to remote learning.

• Willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine is on the rise compared with last year, according to a survey of six industrialized countries by KekstCNC, an international consultancy firm. Some 89 percent of those questioned in the UK were in favor of taking a vaccine, up from 70 percent in December. Sweden and Germany noted similar rises, while vaccine-skeptic France's figures rose from 40 percent to 59 percent.

• Hairdressers across Germany have reopened after a two-and-a-half-month closure. Some states also allowed businesses such as florists and hardware stores to open, many of which have been closed nationwide since December 16. 

• In the Republic of Ireland, about 340,000 school children have returned to classrooms for the first time since December. Half of primary school pupils are in the first phase of the return, along with 63,000 secondary students studying for their final-year Leaving Cert exams. Other pupils will return in phases from March 15.

• Germany will tighten its border restrictions for those coming from France's Moselle region after it declared the area high-risk for virus variants. From Tuesday onwards, travelers to Germany from the region will need to be able to show a negative coronavirus test from the previous 48 hours.

• The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be less effective in people who are obese, data suggest. Italian researchers found that healthcare workers who were obese produced only about half the amount of antibodies in response to a second dose of the jab compared with healthy people.

ACROSS EUROPE

Toni Waterman in Brussels

Beauticians, massage therapists, nail salons and tattoo parlors were allowed to reopen on Monday for the first time in four months. But they do so under very strict conditions to prevent infections of COVID-19. The contact professionals were included in the latest round of easing, after hairdressers returned to work in mid-February.

That could be it for a while, though. At a government meeting on Friday, officials kicked the COVID-19 easing can down the road, saying they want to track infection numbers before making any more decisions. Numbers had been falling but have now reversed direction.

The average number of new daily infections is 2,407, a 19 percent jump from last week.

READ MORE

Record-breaking ice swim

Brazil-discovered variant found in UK

Europe struggles with long COVID-19

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

From today, three of Spain's biggest regions in terms of population are relaxing some of their COVID -19 restrictions.

Catalonia, which has had some of the strictest measures in the country, is allowing the reopening of shopping malls. However, the bulk of its restrictions remain in force.

The Valencia region is allowing the reopening of sidewalk cafes, however sitting inside bars and restaurants is still prohibited.

Madrid, which already enjoys some of the most relaxed regulations in the country, is lifting localized lockdowns on several suburbs. It means just 6 percent of Madrid's 6.6 million residents are still living under some form of limitation to their mobility. This is despite the region having the worst infection rate in the country.

Guy Henderson in London

The hunt is on in the UK for an individual infected with a coronavirus variant first discovered in Brazil that officials worry could make vaccines less effective.

Scientists identified the strain in six people for the first time late last week and are carrying out surge testing at relevant locations to contain the outbreaks. But one had not filled in their test form correctly and cannot be located. Public Health England is asking all those to have taken a test on February 12 or 13 and who are still awaiting a result to come forward immediately.

Another case comes from an individual who returned from Brazil on February 10 – five days before the British government introduced mandatory hotel quarantine for all new arrivals. The opposition Labour Party says the measures should have been introduced faster. Public Health England has called for anyone on the same flight, Swiss Air LX318 from Sao Paulo to London Heathrow via Zurich, to come forward for a test.

The UK is leading the world with its vaccine roll-out. Incidents like these show how precarious the path forward remains.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: German experts warn of mental health crisis among children due to pandemic isolation

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 19 new COVID-19 cases, all from overseas

CGTN Africa: In Kenya and wider Africa, COVID-19 sparks a surge in teen pregnancies

CGTN America: Canadian regulator authorizes AstraZeneca vaccine

Sign up here to get the COVID-19 Europe bulletin sent directly to your inbox.

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.