TOP HEADLINES

• The Pfizer vaccine is up to 88 percent effective against the so-called India variant after the second dose, while the AstraZeneca vaccine proved 60 percent effective, a Public Health England study found.

• Italy has passed the 30 million vaccine doses milestone on Saturday, with nearly 10 million people in the country now fully vaccinated. With the country's population around 60 million people, 16.6 percent of Italians – mostly over 60 years of age – have now received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

• The French COVID-19 tracing app has been downloaded by 16.5 million people, nearly 25 percent of the country's population, surpassing the minimum level it needed to work efficiently. The pass, which will come into effect from June 9, will provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, holds a recent negative PCR test or is recovering from COVID-19.

• Germany's health minister Jens Spahn said the country needs to stay vigilant and lower the number of infections before being able to enjoy a "carefree summer".

• UK former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of lying about pursuing a strategy of herd immunity when the pandemic first hit, something Johnson has denied.

• The U.S. is investigating cases of heart inflammation in young patients, mostly male adolescents and young adults, who have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Myocarditis often disappears without causing further complications for the patients and the Centers for Disease Control has not found any causal link with the jab.

• Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro is facing a fine for breaking COVID-19 restrictions at a public event in Maranhao, in the northeastern area of the country, where he gathered more than 100 people and failed to wear a face mask, measures required in the state. "The law applies to everyone," the governor of Maranhao, leftist Flavio Dino, tweeted late Friday.

• A study found that Africa has a highest COVID-19 mortality rate for those seriously ill with the virus. This would be caused by "shortage of critical care beds and limited resources within intensive care units," said one of the Cape Town-based study's researchers, Bruce Biccard.

• At least 100 climbers and support staff have been found to be infected in outbreak at base camp on Mount Qomolangma, also known as Everest. 

READ MORE:

Trash or Treasure: Creative solutions

BBC apology over Princess Diana interview

Animation: Restoring Notre-Dame

ACROSS EUROPE

Nicole Johnston in London

Good news out of the UK: Public Health England has found the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech offer "high levels of protection" against the variant first identified in India.

A study found the Pfizer vaccine is 88 percent effective and AstraZeneca is 60 percent effective.

The B.1.6172 mutation of the virus, which is now widespread across India, has also been identified in England. The UK is hoping to lift all public restrictions related to COVID-19 on June 21. This new information is likely to increase pressure for the lifting of these restrictions.

Surge testing has been carried out in communities with the virus in an effort to stem its spread.

Germany

Germany's 16 regional states have started relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, with some reopening beer gardens, hotels and swimming pools while others are bringing pupils back to school full-time.

But government officials warn it is not yet the time to lower defenses.

"The weather is improving, the number of vaccinations is rising, infection rates are falling. The restrictions will fall one by one," Germany's health minister Jens Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

"And that's incredibly important after the long, dark winter months. But for a carefree summer, we need to lower the incidence rate even further," he said.

Germany's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 6,714 to 3,648,958, as data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 82 to 87,380.

France

The French "Tous Anti-Covid" ("All against COVID-19") app, initially launched last June under the name StopCovid, has been downloaded by more than 20 percent of France's population, government officials report, exceeding authorities' expectations.

The app will grant access to a "health pass" that people can use to attend sports events, festivals and theme parks with large crowds.

"When people will check this health pass, they won't see any of these details, they'll just see green or red, which means health data are protected," said Secretary of State Cedric O.

The numbers are steadily improving in France, with the country's seven-day moving average for new COVID-19 cases held below the 14,000 mark for the fourth day running on Saturday.

France has been gradually loosening restrictions since the beginning of May and is still on track to lift all lockdown measures by June.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: Spain's tourism minister: 'We're ready to welcome back tourists'

CGTN China: China's campaign 'Spring Sprout' vaccinates Chinese around the globe

CGTN America: U.S. records under 30,000 daily new COVID-19 cases for first time in nearly a year

CGTN Africa: Kenya's COVID infections exceed 168,000 as death toll hits 3,049

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.