TOP HEADLINES

• Ukraine has approved China's Sinovac jab, a month after receiving 215,000 doses of the vaccine. "The vaccines of the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech can be trusted," a statement from the health ministry said.

• Latvia has opened 10 large vaccination centers in a bid to speed up its vaccination program following a slow start due to delivery delays and low trust in the jabs.

• More than 5.2 million people have received a second dose of a vaccine in the UK, while more than 31.45 million people have had at least their first jab, official government figures said.

• Meanwhile, the UK reported 10 more deaths from the virus on Saturday, its lowest daily figure since early September.

• Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin has paid homage to the nearly 9,700 people who have died from the virus in the country by lighting a red wax candle during a video message on social media. Parmelin compared the candle to a "glimmer that we are starting to see on the horizon in this crisis."

• Riot police in Brussels were forced to disperse crowds from a city park for a second evening in a row on Friday. The police used water cannon to break up the smaller crowd, 24 hours after using the same tactics to charge a group of up to 2,000 people who gathered to attend a fake concert on Thursday.

• Russia has passed 100,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic after a further 384 fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours to bring the nationwide death toll to 100,107.

• Slovenia and Austria have promised thousands of vaccine doses to Czechia, which is struggling with a surge in infections. "We are very grateful for this generous help, especially from friends who are also in need of more vaccines, but they understand how difficult is our situation," Czechia Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said.

• The number of people in French intensive care units with COVID-19 rose by the greatest margin in five months on Friday as the country continues to battle against a third wave. The health ministry reported that 5,254 virus patients were in ICU, an increase of 145 from the previous day.

• Seven deaths have been reported among people who have received the Vaxzevria jab in the UK, the country's drug regulators have said. However the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says the numbers remain low and the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh any risks.

• Turkey has begun administering Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses, the country's second vaccine after China's Sinovac jab.

• From Monday April 12, care home residents in England will be able to receive two visitors indoors as restrictions continue to be cautiously eased.

ACROSS EUROPE

Andrew Wilson in the UK

The UK's drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, has said the risks associated with vaccination far outweigh those of blood clots. There have been 30 reports of cases in people who've been given the AstraZeneca vaccine, seven of those have died.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned people against meeting indoors over Easter. Families can now meet outdoors in groups of six or as two households.

At least 122,000 National Health Service personnel are reported to be suffering from Long Covid-19, putting more pressure on the service.

The government has decided not to put European countries like France and Germany on a red travel list despite the third wave of infections.

READ MORE

UK's gaming industry booming post-Brexit

Where in Europe is same-sex marriage legal?

The Agenda: European vaccine procurement

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

The Spanish government says it wants to speed up the pace of its vaccination program in April with the delivery of increasing numbers of doses.

Over a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been delivered to the country's 17 autonomous regions.  Health officials say a shipment of 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to arrive on Monday.

The shipments are arriving just as infection rates are starting to rise in Spain, leading to fears of a possible fourth wave of the pandemic.

Spain's 14-day cumulative cases per 100,000 people, is just over 150, above the level considered "high risk."

Belgium

For a second day running, riot police in Brussels were forced to disperse a crowd of people in one of the city's parks on Friday. 

Just 24 hours after using water cannon to disperse a group of about 2,000 people who gathered to attend a party, which turned out to be an April Fool's Day prank, police had to use the high-power cannon again – albeit on a smaller collection.

Brussels' mayor Philippe Close said that while he could understand people wanting to go outside, "we can't tolerate such gatherings."

Close also thanked the police "for the difficult job, and for people who have respected the rules for more than a year" since the start of the pandemic.

WATCH BELOW: Police use water cannon to disperse partygoers in Brussels

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: The Answers Project: Are we alone in the universe?

CGTN China: Sinovac vaccine to expand annual production capacity to two billion

CGTN America: First U.S. college to require COVID-19 vaccination

CGTN Africa: South African university reports COVID-19 outbreak

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.