TOP HEADLINES

• Germany's public health institute has declared the UK a virus variant region, which means it will only accept travelers from the UK if they are German citizens or residents along with the spouses and children – and even these will have to have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. The new rule will take effect from midnight on Sunday.

• On the other side, Germany is planning to remove France from its list of COVID-19 risk areas, as new infections numbers in the country keep dropping. 

• Spain won't require British travelers to show a COVID-19 negative test on arrival from May 24. But as Spain remains on the UK's amber list, travelers between the two countries are still required by the British government to quarantine for 10 days on return to the UK and take two tests.

• The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has decided that those who had blood clots with low platelets after receiving a first jab of the AstraZeneca vaccine should not receive a second dose.

• Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson announced during a G20 health summit that they will supply around 3.5 billion vaccine doses at cost or discount to low- and middle-income countries this year and next.

• Only 15 people out of the more than 60,000 who took part in the UK's nine pilot events for mass gatherings in recent weeks tested positive for COVID-19.

• Many among the 15,000 volunteers who took part in the Novavax vaccine trials in the UK are considering quitting the program or taking the risk to get an additional vaccine jab as vaccination with Novavax isn't recognized by vaccine passports.

• People aged 32 and 33 in the UK are able to book their first dose of the vaccine as of Saturday and Monday morning. More than 40 percent of adults in the country have received one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

• Health officials and international aid groups worry that 11 days of fighting in Gaza could cause a spike of new infections among Gazans, thousands of whom took shelter in UN-run schools, with little to no social distancing.

• The COVID-19 death toll in Latin America and the Caribbean passed one million on Friday – almost 30 percent of the global total, with most deaths occurring in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru.

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ACROSS EUROPE

Nicole Johnston in London

Public Health England (PHE) is investigating a COVID-19 variant first detected in Yorkshire, northern England, which contains three concerning mutations.

The variant was first identified in April and carries three mutations associated with other variants of concern, including the variant first identified in South Africa.

PHE says it doesn't believe the variant is more infectious and patients with it are not becoming more unwell than expected. Scientists are continuing to sequence the variant.

Meanwhile it's estimated that the R number is between 0.9 and 1.1, which is an increase from last week's 0.8. It's the closest the R number has been to 1 since January, the peak of the second wave.

Concerns remain that the rise in infections is likely fueled by the spread of the variant first discovered in India.

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

Spain authorities have announced the country will allow travelers from non-EU countries such as the UK and Japan to enter the country without a negative COVID-19 test from Monday May 24, while people from non-EU countries such as the U.S. who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to enter the country from June 7.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the return of tourism will be key to Spain's economic recovery, as he expects foreign tourist arrivals to reach 60 to 70 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the year.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: WHO says true global COVID-19 death toll could be as high as 8m

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

CGTN America: COVID-19 deaths in Latin America surpass one million

CGTN Africa: EU to support Africa to build own health industries and infrastructure

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded.