TOP HEADLINES

- Angela Merkel has scrapped plans for a strict lockdown in Germany over Easter after a backlash against the last-minute restrictions. She apologized for the uncertainty she had caused, saying: "This mistake is mine alone."

- UK Prime minister Boris Johnson says the country could introduce tougher measures on arrivals from France, "if we think that it is necessary to protect public health and to stop new variants coming in."

- France may extend its restrictions to three other regions, including in the area around Lyon, the government has said, after the number of people in intensive care rose to a four-month high.

- Belgium is set to shut schools, non-food stores and hairdressers for a month this Saturday, in response to the number of patients in hospitals recently doubling. 

- Finland will start using the AstraZeneca vaccine again from Monday, but only for people aged 65 and under, the country's Institute of Health and Welfare has said.

- Sweden, which did not initially impose the strict lockdowns seen around much of the world, recorded a smaller increase in its overall mortality rate in 2020 than most European states, according to data compiled by Reuters. However, it did fare worse than its Nordic neighbors.

- Hungary's hospitals are under "extraordinary" pressure, according to the country's surgeon general, as it becomes a hotspot of Europe's third wave, overtaking Czechia to register the world's highest daily death rate.

- The EU is tightening COVID-19 vaccine exports to countries outside the bloc, including the UK, which will make it easier to block shipments to countries with higher inoculation rates or those not sharing the doses they produce.

- The Netherlands will extend its national curfew and restrictions by three weeks until late April, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced. Hospitalizations are continuing to rise as the government described its third wave as "starting to become visible."

- Norway will bring in new national restrictions including a ban on the public serving of alcohol, postponing plans to reopen society in late March following a rapid increase in cases.

- Sweden will on March 31 end its ban on people traveling from Norway and Denmark. The government said the restrictions were no longer needed to stem the virus's spread, but travelers will still have to show a negative test to enter the country.

- After reporting what's set to be a record for new infections, Poland will likely have to tighten restrictions, the prime minister's top aide Michal Dworczyk has said. Last week, theaters, shopping malls, hotels and cinemas were closed to stem the virus's spread. 

AROUND EUROPE

Simon Ormiston on Germany

Bringing to an end a tense 24-hour period on Wednesday evening an apologetic Chancellor Angela Merkel ditched a short-lived plan to extend the lockdown measures over the Easter holiday to try to break a third COVID-19 wave.

The backlash from Germany's business community over further losses juxtaposed to criticism from medical experts claiming the measures were not tough enough of new variants led to a dramatic climb down from Merkel.

"The idea of an Easter shutdown was drafted with the best of intentions. We urgently need to stop and reverse the third wave," Merkel told reporters on Wednesday. 

Instead Germany's outgoing Chancellor said it was too late to impose such restrictions adding "This mistake is mine alone, I ask all citizens for forgiveness.”

German's patience with lockdown and a slow vaccination program is wearing thin. A poll released on Wednesday showed public support for her conservatives slumping to its lowest in over a year ahead of a national election in September.

The move was not entirely unexpected even if it was unpopular as the national incidence rate has been over 100 per 100,000 people for more than three consecutive days. Top epidemiologists at the Robert Koch Institute have warned of an "exponential increase" in cases by Easter.

Merkel's u-turn has drawn immediate support from business leaders, describing it as "courageous." It seems there is no blueprint for this pandemic.

Ross Cullen in Paris

France has overtaken the UK to record the fifth-highest number of cases in the world. Nearly 4.3 million people have now tested positive in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that during the first weekend of the new partial lockdown in 16 regions of France, there were 50,000 checks carried out by police and 6,500 fines handed out for breaking the restrictions. 

He added: "We will have several difficult weeks ahead of us," urging people "not to gather, not to travel, not to see family" over the long Easter weekend. 

One infectious diseases professor said the Greater Paris region was dealing with "a catastrophic number of patients." The regional health agency for the area says hospitals must delay 80 percent of non-urgent operations to free up 2,200 beds for use in intensive care. 

The latest health defence council is being held on Wednesday morning. President Emmanuel Macron will chair the meeting of senior ministers as 20 new areas in France are under coronavirus surveillance to see if they need to be added to the list of regions under new restrictions. 

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Andrew Wilson in London

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's unexplained and hastily retracted joke about "greed" and "capitalism" being at the heart of the UK vaccine program comes at a time of deep tension with the EU as its own program struggles with production and delivery.

The bloc is now going ahead with an export ban in an effort to boost its flagging vaccination program.

In the UK, there are concerns that some people are trying to jump the queue for vaccines by posing as front-line health workers.

There are also unconfirmed reports that ministers are considering vaccinations for under-18s as early as August this year.

Rahul Pathak in Madrid 

Spain is resuming its use of the AstraZeneca vaccine from today. The country initially suspended the jab's roll-out following safety concerns.

However, on Thursday an investigation by the European Medicines Agency found the benefits of the AstraZeneca jab far outweighed the possible health risks.

Spain has also announced it is raising the age limit of people who are allowed to take the jab from 55 to 65.

However, a recent poll by YouGov found 56 percent of people living in Spain thought the AstraZeneca vaccine was unsafe.

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