TOP HEADLINES

• Germany, France and Italy have joined a growing list of nations that have halted the AstraZeneca jab over blood clot fears, pending a decision on its safety by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), despite the pharmaceutical firm and the WHO insisting there is no risk.

• Ten cases of blood clots potentially linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine have been reported in the Netherlands, the Dutch drugs watchdog said after the government halted use of the jab.

• A health worker in Norway has died of a brain haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, though no direct link to the jab has been established, according to the country's health authorities.

• WHO experts will meet on Tuesday to discuss the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The health body's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: "This does not necessarily mean these events are linked to COVID-19 vaccination, but it's routine practice to investigate them." 

•  Poland's health minister has said the benefits of using the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks.

• Turkey's Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy has said the country will welcome British tourists without proof of COVID-19 vaccine and would not require a negative test result. Employees at hotels and other tourist facilities in the country will be given the jabs before the summer season.

• Intensive care doctors in Germany have warned the country would be required to make an "immediate return" to partial lockdown to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• New research suggests that two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine offer similar protection against COVID-19 as natural immunity after infection.

• Demonstrators in Hungary's capital Budapest defied a ban on public gatherings on Monday to demand an end to the country's lockdown restrictions, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in hospitalizations.

• A World Health Organization fund launched a year ago to draw donations from regular people and companies towards battling the pandemic has raised nearly $250 million, said the health body.

• The Netherlands began three days of voting on Monday under tight restrictions including an overnight curfew in one of the first major tests of a European government's coronavirus policies, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte expected to win another term in office.

• Italy reimposed restrictions on Monday on three-quarters of the country until April 6 to suppress an outbreak fueled by the variant first detected in the UK. Schools, restaurants, shops and museums will close, with residents told to stay home except for essential reasons.

• Facebook is adding informative labels to posts about vaccines as it expands efforts to counter COVID-19-related misinformation flourishing on its platforms.

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ACROSS EUROPE

Trent Murray in Berlin 

The latest data from Germany's Robert Koch Institute show there have been 6,604 new COVID-19 cases recorded, a 32 percent increase compared with the same day last week.

This latest spike has renewed fears that Germany could be entering a damaging third wave of the pandemic. 

The seven-day incidence rate has also risen, from 79.1 cases per 100,000 people to 82.1. 

The government has said if that number hits 100, an "emergency brake" will be applied with the strictest possible lockdown measures reintroduced. 

Toni Waterman in Brussels 

Belgium's COVID-19 average new daily infections increased by 15 percent in the past week to 2,718. 

Coronavirus-related hospital admissions have also gone up to 162 per day. 

This surge has come as hospitality workers and some government officials have expressed their frustration with lockdown measures.

Hotel, restaurant and bar employees drove at a snail's pace around Brussels' ring road on Monday morning to protest restrictions that shut the restaurant sector in mid-October. 

The government says the earliest the hospitality industry can reopen will be on May 1, which some politicians say is too late. 

Antwerp's mayor is urging the government to allow outdoor terraces to open for Easter holidays, arguing it would help avoid large groups from gathering in public spaces. 

Paul Barber in London

The UK's COVID-19 vaccination program ramped up this week, after 512,108 people in the country got their first dose on March 13 alone. 

There will be a significant increase in jabs being offered over the next three weeks, with The Financial Times newspaper reporting that National Health Service leaders say Britain is on course to hit 4 million to 5 million inoculations per week this month. 

So far, a total of 24,196,211 people have had their first dose and 1,584,909 have received their second. 

Primary and secondary pupils return to school in Scotland on Monday and outdoor meetings of four people from up to two households will be allowed.

Schools in Wales will continue their program of "phased and flexible" returns to the classroom.

Ross Cullen in Paris

The number of people being treated in intensive care units in France has passed 4,000. 

In the Greater Paris area, 96 percent of intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients. 

People in need of urgent care have already been evacuated from the Greater Paris region by plane to lesser-hit areas and special high-speed trains are being prepared to move more patients away from near-capacity hospitals in the capital region. 

Meanwhile, pharmacists in France can begin giving vaccines from today. 

France passed the grim milestone of 90,000 coronavirus-related deaths over the weekend. 

The country has also now given 5 million first shots of the coronavirus vaccines and 2 million second doses. 

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN China: Chinese authority in HKSAR issues easier visa policy for foreigners inoculated with Chinese vaccine

CGTN America: Yo-Yo Ma marks second jab with surprise concert in clinic

CGTN Africa: South Africa: Number of active COVID cases drop by 90% in 3 months

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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.