TOP HEADLINES

- A concert in Barcelona last month did not cause higher infection rates, according to researchers. The test event was attended by 5,000 people who had to test negative and wear a mask - but not socially distance. Only 6 people tested positive within 14 days of the event, which is fewer than the population average. 

- Moscow's pensioners are being offered incentives to take a COVID-19 vaccine by the city's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said residents over 60-years old will be given discounts or gift cards to be used in shops, cafes or pharmacies. "Do not delay getting the jab. Your health and the health of your nearest and dearest depends on it," he said. 

- Popularity of the Dutch royal family has dropped nearly 20 percent in the last year, following several COVID-19 related controversies. In August and September 2020, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were photographed in Greece, once when the Netherlands was in lockdown, and once without facemasks or observing social distancing rules. 

- The UK government said it has "no vaccine surplus" to send to India and aid the dire situation there. Prime Minister Johnson's spokesperson said: "We committed in February to sending excess doses from the UK's supply to the Covax procurement pool and to countries in need once they are available. Right now, we are moving through the UK prioritisation list for our domestic rollout and we don't have surplus doses, but we will keep this under review."

- Czechia is preparing to ease COVID-19 restrictions next week. Hairdressers, beauty salons, vets and schools will be able to reopen and sports and cultural activities will be able to restart - but under continued conditions. Some areas are expected to remain under lockdown. Vaccine or negative test "passports" will be used to enter businesses. 

- In France, primary schools and nurseries reopened after three weeks closing, despite a national surge in patients needing intensive care treatment,  but infections are dropping, according to authorities. President Macron said "We're going to gradually reopen," with a ban on domestic travel soon to be lifted, and outdoor dining reopening in May. 

- Turkey, on the other hand, will enter its strictest COVID-19 lockdown on Thursday with a three-week full lockdown of schools and businesses. President Erdogan will also urge people to stay at home. Agriculture, healthcare and supermarkets will remain mostly open. Crucially, it will mean Turkey is locked down during Eid al-Fitr. 

- Portugal has recorded zero COVID-19 deaths in a 24-hour period for the second time since the pandemic began. The first day was in August 2020. The latest good day follows a lockdown that has lasted since January when case numbers soared. Portugal has reported 16,965 deaths from COVID-19. 

- Spanish football authorities said they are working on a plan to get crowds back into La Liga stadiums, to watch the final games of the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona this season. Its expected fans could be allowed into stadia from mid-May, meaning the two final rounds of the league could be cheered on non-virtually. Broadcasters in France report a similar plan to see fans in the Stade de France for the French football cup final on May 21. 

- Germany's vaccine drive is set to take a next step after a national political summit on Monday evening. Chancellor Merkel and others agreed all Germans should be offered a jab in June. Meanwhile, authorities in Hamburg have begun offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the city's homeless population. 

- UK lawmakers have suggested a review of every single "COVID fine" handed out to people breaking lockdown rules since the start of the pandemic, as they said the system may discriminate against poorer people. A committee said "the system of issuing fines is muddled, discriminatory and unfair." Most fines are between $277 and $1,386, but repeat offenders or even organisers could be fined up to $13,867. 

Photo: Thibault Camus / POOL / AFP

AROUND EUROPE 

Trent Murray in Berlin 

The latest data from Germany's Robert Koch Institute showed 10,976 new COVID-19 cases recorded, a 14 percent increase compared to the same day last week as the third wave continues. It comes as Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to scrap the vaccine priority list by June, allowing all German adults to book an appointment by the end of June.

24 percent of the German population has now been given a first dose of a vaccine. With vaccine shipments expected to significantly jump in coming weeks, there's a growing up that a majority of adults can be vaccinated by the summer, and pave the way for an end to strict lockdown measures.  

Nawied Jabarkhyl in London

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a cabinet meeting on Tuesday as he faces growing pressure over his conduct. Among the allegations is a claim he said he'd rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third coronavirus lockdown. Johnson denies he said that.
Meanwhile, a committee in the UK's parliament has called for all fines handed out for COVID lockdown breaches to be reviewed. The Joint Committee on Human Rights said the rules had changed at least 65 times since March 2020 and it called the system "unfair". More than 85,000 fines have been issued in England since the pandemic began.

Ross Cullen in Paris

More than 6,000 people are now being treated in intensive care in France, as the situation in hospitals remains serious. The mark was surpassed on Monday evening and means that the third wave is clearly worse than the second wave in terms of the need for urgent care. The high point in the first wave last year was around 7,000 people in intensive care. The president has laid out the government's ideal scenario for reopening the country. 

The first stage was yesterday with the restart of classes for primary school pupils. May 3 marks the second step: reopening secondary schools and removing the 10km travel limit. In mid-May, there may be a relaxation of the national curfew and some culture venues will be able to reopen. The famous outdoor terraces of cafes and restaurants will be able to serve customers again. France is also joining the international effort to support India through its current devastating wave of cases and deaths by sending oxygen production units, respirators and oxygen bottles.

Penelope Liersch in Budapest 

Russia delivered 480,000 Sputnik vaccines to Budapest overnight and 400,000 doses of Chinese-made Sinopharm are expected to arrive later this week. As of Monday close to 3.7 million people have had at least one dose of vaccine in Hungary. Once the figure hits 4 million significant areas of the economy will reopen to those who can show their vaccination certificate. 

Concerns continue around government data given out on social media listing deaths and covid infections recorded for each vaccine. The information was labelled a sham and slammed by scientists who say it was misleading and did not take into account which groups had been given certain vaccines, how long after inoculation infections appeared or what people actually passed away from. 

The data at face value showed the Russian and Chinese vaccines as relatively 'safe' while Pfizer had the highest number of deaths and AstraZeneca the highest number of infections. It has since emerged the fund that sells the Russian vaccine posted a very similar chart on Twitter two days before the Hungarian government released their data table.
 

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